Lewis Road Bridge

Anyone who says that truss bridges are incapable of supporting 21st century traffic is obviously on some sort of dangerous drugs, and a safe distance should be kept from that person. This bridge shows you why.

Finding a truss bridge open to traffic is hard to do in Michigan. Finding one with paint on it is hard to do also. I was shocked to find this bridge with a decent coat of paint on it open to traffic. Even more unbelievable was the weight limit, which was for a Michigan pony truss a record high: 19-43-54 ton weight limit! The shear strength of this beautiful bridge was demonstrated by the passing of an asphalt truck over it as shown above. It goes to show that with proper maintenance a truss bridge can hold a lot of weight.

The bridge is a warren pony truss and is composed of four panels. According to the Michigan Historic Bridge Inventory, the bridge was built in 1910 and is 48 feet in length. The bridge sits on concrete abutments. The deck looks to have been redone, as it is asphalt on top of a modern type of corrugated steel. The bridge lacks original railings, and has no v-lacing or lattice. Despite this, the bridge still manages to be incredibly photogenic. It is one of those truss bridges that is out in the middle of nowhere. With no trees or bushes in the way, you can easily get great photos of the actual structure of the bridge. Surrounding farmland and barns and such give this bridge that classic rural farm truss feeling. There is not a lot of traffic on Lewis Road, but enough that you will not have a problem witnessing other people using the bridge.

The connections on this bridge are unusual, in that they are half riveted and half bolted. The bolts look like the old style, suggesting that they are in fact original, and not the result of a repair. My guess is that all the rivets were done in the factory, and the bridge was shipped in sections to the site. Then, rather than engage in field riveting, bolts were used to assemble the sections of the bridge together. At least that is my guess. Anyone with more definite ideas can contact me.

Neighboring Kent Road also crosses Little Salt Creek just around the intersection, although it is a most distasteful slab. In a way, I was glad. I was able to take some photos that give a side-by-side comparison to modern vs historic bridges. By visiting this bridge you can see why I treasure truss bridges so much while at the same time despising modern bridges.