 |
  |
Above: Views contrasting the truss bridge to its replacement.
|
Original Location Key Facts |
Bridge Name |
Type | Road | Location | City | Crossing |
Frith Road Bridge | Truss | Frith Road | St. Clair County, MI | Rural | Pine River |
|
Original Location Technical Facts |
Construction Date |
Total Length | Main Span Length | Approach Spans | Approach Span Length | Deck Width | Bridge Width | Truss Height | Panel Length |
|
Listed 1914 (Arguable) | 179 Feet | 112 Feet |
West Side - 2; East Side - 1 |
22 Feet |
16 Feet |
18 Feet |
20 Feet |
7 Panels, 16 Feet Each |
|
Future Location Key Facts |
Bridge Name |
Type | Road | Location | City | Crossing |
Frith Road Bridge | Truss | Pine River Nature Center, off Castor Road | St. Clair County, MI | Rural (Near Goodles) | Pine River |
I have added photos to the photo gallery that show the bridge laying in pieces. I found this very interesting, as it was interesting to see how badly rusted the connections really were when they were all separated. Some parts were bad as I expected, while others were better than I expected. Construction of the ugly concrete eyesore slab bridge (UCESB) is now complete. I forced myself to visit the stupid thing to document how ugly it is. Not only is it ugly, it stinks horribly too! Something in the modern, cheap cement used today. As promised, I have created a series of compare/contrast photos of the slab and truss bridge, including a special Powerpoint Presentation that provides a theatric, animated sequence that really brings out the ugliness of the abhorrent slab bridge. Meanwhile, I will continue to monitor the truss bridge situation as grant money is secured and restoration can begin. This is the part that will take longer than everyone wants it to!
The Frith Road Bridge, crossing the Pine River in St. Clair County, is a historic metal truss bridge that does not meet the county's requirements for weight and traffic capacity, which is not too difficult for a historic bridge to do. The county is willing to give this bridge to the Pine River Nature Center, which is located east of Goodells just south of old M-21. The Intermediate School District of St. Clair County is providing a large portion of the money required to restore the bridge. However, more money is needed to complete the moving and restoration of the bridge. Read on to discover why preserving this wonderful bridge is a must.
I started visiting and photographing historic bridges during Summer 2003, and this bridge quickly became my favorite bridge in St. Clair County. It is St. Clair County's last through truss bridge. For me, this bridge is not to far from home, and I have visited it many times and have numerous photos from a variety of seasons, times, and weather conditions. I have also taken many structural detail photos. In all, I have over 500 pictures, and counting! I have 49 of those available on this webpage. If you want more or want them in full-size, contact me. When I arrived to photograph the bridge in mid-January, I was shocked to find the bridge closed. I learned that the bridge was closed because a car hit a part of the bridge. When I inspected the area that the car hit, I could definitely see that a car had hit and scraped against the guardrail in the center of the north side of the bridge. The modern guardrail had bent out. A vertical member was also slightly bent outward, with its v-lacing buckled as well. However, the damage does not seem bad at all to me. It looks like a situation where the car may have hit ice and slid, or someone was not paying attention and drifted over. I suspect that this damage will not hinder the preservation of this bridge, especially as a pedestrian crossing.
This is a Pratt through truss that was built in 1914. The structure is pin connected and has v-lacing present on several members. Like most truss bridges, the bridge is held together by rivets. This one lane bridge with a 3 ton weight limit carries traffic over the Pine River. The deck is wood with a layer of asphalt on top. Original guardrails have been replaced by modern metal guardrails. These guardrails are bolted to the vertical members of the bridge. The bridge has wood and concrete approaches, again with asphalt on top of a wood deck. Supports for the main span are steel encased concrete. One diagonal member appears to have had it's turnbuckle replaced at some date long ago. The diagonal bracing rods above the road also appear to have been replaced or repaired.
The Frith Road Bridge is definitely in need of work, particularly on areas alongside and below the deck. Several pins underneath the bridge have rusted so severely that they have broken and now dangle below the bridge. The good news is, although the bridge has rusted due to a lack of paint, the main part of the structure, which is above the deck, appears to be in decent condition. Despite this, the entire structure has rusted completely, with the exception of steel i-beams below the deck.
Restoration of this bridge would most likely include sandblasting and repainting. The only place I can find any paint left is on steel i-beams below the deck. These are painted a rusty red. Assuming that this is representative of the bridge's original paint color, I would recommend going with that color. Their is a bridge in the Calhoun County Bridge Part that is painted that sort of color, as well as the East Delhi Road Bridge. I think that the deck should be replaced with a wood deck, which would be more authentic. I think the wood should be bridge wood, not deck wood. Bridge wood is like what they put on Beyer Road Bridge, and deck wood is like what you find on an outdoor porch and such. I have seen both used on bridges. The deck wood looks bad on a bridge. I also would be happy to see those ugly modern guardrails replaced with a metal pole guardrail, or a decorative latticed metal guardrail. The Firth Road Bridge originally had metal pipe guardrails, however, many truss bridges had a more ornate lattice guardrail. Either one would be appropriate. Most truss bridges I have seen restored have ugly wooden railings put on, that obstruct the view of the structure. I hope that the Frith Road Bridge restoration sets a new standard in that department. If safety is a concern, one need look no further than the metal pole railings that follow the boardwalks in Port Huron near the Blue Water Bridge. If they are safe enough there, they should be fine for the Frith Road Bridge. Putting that style of railing on the Frith Road Bridge would not obstruct the view, and would be in the same ballpark as the original railings.
What makes a through truss bridge special? The methods and techniques used to build this bridge are no longer used, and have not been used for many decades. The configuration of the steel members of the bridge bears much resemblance to wooden covered bridges. These are the kinds of bridges you see in movies, where a romantic couple walk slowly across the bridge, enjoying the view and one-another's company. The bridge is of considerable length, and is therefore a more significant monument to early 20th century bridge building then shorter examples. The skeletal nature of through truss bridges makes them excellent tools to teach and learn about how compression and tension in the members of a bridge makes a bridge "work."
Building the Frith Road Bridge, back in 1914, was probably a much more complex project for the contractors in 1914, then it will be for today's contractors to build its replacement. Modern motorized machinery was still in an early stage. Standard plans for bridges on roadways were only beginning to develop. Preserving the Frith Road Bridge would be a great way to honor the people who worked hard to keep our country and its people moving so many years ago, so we could progress to where we are in our country today. Metal truss bridges, like the Frith Road Bridge, are a type of bridge that are no longer built on roads today. The few bridges of this type that remain on roadways are often closed to traffic and/or are being demolished at an extremely fast rate. The eastern thumb area is particularly devoid of truss bridges, especially through truss bridges. With the summer 2004 demolition of the Church Road Bridge in Sanilac County, and the collapse of the abandoned Ford Road Bridge in St. Clair County several years ago, the Frith Road Bridge is the last through truss bridge in the eastern thumb area.
