Bell Road Bridge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bell Road Bridge |
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Bridge on land in overgrown brush in 2010
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| Coordinates | 42°24′05″N 83°54′31″W / 42.4015°N 83.9086°W |
| Characteristics | |
| Total length | 103 feet 6 inches (31.55 m) |
| Width | 13 feet 5 inches (4.09 m) |
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Bell Road Bridge
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| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Built | 1891 |
| NRHP reference No. | 96001380 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 29, 1996 |
The Bell Road Bridge is a special kind of bridge called a Pratt through truss bridge. It is located in Dexter Township, Michigan, in Washtenaw County, Michigan. This bridge was built in 1891 and used to carry Bell Road over the Huron River.
Since 1997, the bridge has been resting on the riverbank, covered by plants and bushes. It is recognized as a Michigan State Historic Site and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's an important historical landmark.
Bridge History
Building the Bridge
The Bell Road Bridge was built in 1891 by a company called the Wrought Iron Bridge Company from Canton, Ohio. A team of local workers put the bridge together using iron pins to connect its parts. This way of building bridges was common in the 1800s. The bridge was built near a small old town called Dover, which used to be a mill town. Not much of that town is left today.
A Historic Landmark
On November 29, 1996, the Bell Road Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This list includes important places across the United States. The Bell Road Bridge is special because it's one of the oldest bridges still around that was built by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company. It's also one of only about ten metal bridges of its kind in Michigan that were built in the 1800s.
Moving the Bridge
By 1997, the parts of the bridge that held it up (called abutments) were in bad shape. People worried that a spring flood might wash the bridge away. So, the bridge was carefully taken off its supports and moved to the southeastern bank of the river. Since then, it has become quite overgrown with plants.
On June 17, 1997, the bridge was named a Michigan State Historic Site. A sign was put up on February 2, 1999, to share information about it. Because the bridge is no longer in its original spot and is quite old, its official plaque from the National Register of Historic Places is kept safe in a local resident's garage.
In 2015, the local government of Dexter Township decided they didn't want to keep the bridge anymore. This means another town or group could take it. They might move it again and fix it up for people to walk or bike on, possibly as part of the Border-to-Border Trail.
Bridge Design
The Bell Road Bridge is a single-span bridge, meaning it crosses the river in one long section. It was designed for one lane of traffic. It is a type of bridge called a Pratt through truss. This design uses a pattern of triangles to make the bridge strong.
The bridge is about 103 feet 6 inches (31.55 m) (about 31.5 meters) long. It is about 13 feet 5 inches (4.09 m) (about 4 meters) wide. The supports that held the bridge up were made from fieldstone, which are natural stones found in fields. Before it was moved, the bridge carried Bell Road over the Huron River.
