|
Key Facts |
| Bridge Name | Facility Carried / Feature Intersected | Location | Structure Type | Construction Date / Builder or Contractor |
| Marl Lake Road Bridge
1/2 Mile Road Bridge |
Marl Lake Road (1/2 Mile Road) Over Nottawa Creek (Nottawassepee River) | Rural: Branch County, Michigan and Calhoun County, Michigan | Metal Pinned Pratt Through Truss, Stationary | 1904 By: Unknown |
|
Technical Facts |
| Structure Length | Roadway Width | Main Spans | Approach Spans |
| 80 Feet (24.3 Meters) | 14.8 Feet (4.5 Meters) | 1 | None |
This bridge is listed in the inventories as being in Calhoun County, although the two counties have long disputed who actually owns this county line bridge. Either way, recent developments have resulted in plans to relocate the bridge to Historic Bridge Park.
The water this bridge crosses goes by two names. It is called Nottawassepee River or Nottawa Creek The root meaning of the "ssepee" is Algonquin for "creek" or "river", and so Nottawassepee River could be considered redundant. Thanks to Dave Lemberg for providing this information.
This bridge is a pin connected Pratt through truss, and is composed of five panels. It is seated on concrete abutments. These abutments, particularly the southern one, are failing, as they are tipping inward to the river. This can be seen by the crooked appearance of the feet of this bridge, which are no longer flat on the abutment. There is v-lacing present on the vertical members, which is on the "side" of the vertical members, which is the less common configuration. Simple channel steel provides a railing for the bridge. The portal bracing is a lattice design. The plaques for this bridge are lost, but the brackets for the portal-mounted plaques remain.
Although the inventories list a 1914 date for the construction of this bridge, this is likely a data entry error. 1904 seems a more reasonable date of construction for this bridge.
Calhoun County plans to move this bridge to Historic Bridge Park, and this plan comes not a moment to soon. Left as it is, the abutments would eventually begin to twist the superstructure of the bridge, which would go on until it caused the bridge to collapse. A good example of this is the Maple Rapids Road Bridge, which is also a short through truss bridge. The relocation of this bridge will ensure that this treasure remains around for people to enjoy.
