Fort Street Bridge

A relocation and restoration is in progress for this bridge!

Key Facts

Bridge Name	Facility Carried / Feature Intersected	Location	Structure Type	Construction Date / Builder or Contractor
Fort Street Bridge	Fort Street Over Power Canal	Sault Ste. Marie: Chippewa County, Michigan	Metal Pinned Pennsylvania Through Truss, Stationary	1902 By: New Castle Bridge Company of New Castle, Indiana

Technical Facts

Structure Length	Main Spans	Approach Spans
234 Feet (71.3 Meters)	1	None

Historically Significant

This is an extremely rare pinned Pennsylvania highway truss bridge. There is only one other Pennsylvania truss bridge in Michigan, the CR-510 bridge. Pennsylvania truss bridges are generally quite stunning, due to the complex arrangement of members. This Fort Street bridge is no exception. In its original location, original lattice guardrails were present on the bridge, and a wooden deck was present. Extensive V-lacing on many parts of the bridge add to the visual qualities of the structure.

A Restoration!

This bridge is being moved and restored! The bridge will remain in Sault Ste Marie, but in Ashmun Bay Park. The original railings will be retained in the restoration, which is good news. The restoration has process has been slow. Luke Gordon visited Sault Ste Marie in 2005 and did some investigating and found the bridge in a pile of parts in a fenced in area! No sand blasting or riveting appeared to have been done to them yet. Some photos are available of this in the photo gallery.

Information and Findings From MDOT

One of only two Pennsylvania through truss highway bridges left in Michigan. This design, common for railroad bridges, was rare for highway bridge applications. The builder, the New Castle Bridge Company of New Castle, Indiana, was a prolific nineteenth century metal truss bridge company.

Text Credit to Charles Hyde "Historic Highway Bridges of Michigan"

Visit MDOT's Historic Bridge Website