County Road C117–Pike River Bridge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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County Road C117–Pike River Bridge
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Side panels of bridge
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 Location in Michigan
Location in the United States
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| Location | County Road C117 over Pike River, Chassell, Michigan |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1914 |
| Built by | Smith-Byers-Sparks Co. |
| Architect | Michigan State Highway Dept. |
| Architectural style | Steel stringer bridge |
| MPS | Highway Bridges of Michigan MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 99001517 |
| Added to NRHP | December 09, 1999 |
The County Road C117–Pike River Bridge is a special bridge in Chassell, Michigan. It crosses the Pike River on County Road C117. This road used to be part of US 41, a major highway. It's a type of bridge called a steel stringer bridge. This means it uses strong steel beams to support the road. In 1999, this bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This list includes important historical places in the United States.
Bridge History: How It Was Built
In 1913, the state of Michigan decided to build many new main roads. These roads were called "trunkline highways." One of these new roads was planned to go through the western part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. This route would connect the northern tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula to a main east-west highway.
The new road needed to cross two rivers near Chassell: the Pike River and the Snake River. The Michigan State Highway Department designed two bridges for these crossings. They were both 38 feet (about 11.6 meters) long and made of steel beams. These were called trunkline bridges number 8 and 9.
A company from Houghton called Smith-Byers-Sparks Company won the job to build the bridges. They finished building both bridges in 1914.
By 1915, most of the new trunkline highway was finished. In the 1920s, this road became part of what we now know as US 41. Later, in 1934, the bridge over the Snake River was replaced. The path of US 41 was also changed near the Pike River. This meant the original Pike River Bridge now serves local traffic on County Road 117.
Bridge Design: What It Looks Like
The County Road C117–Pike River Bridge is 38 feet (about 11.6 meters) long. The whole structure is about 21.4 feet (6.5 meters) wide. The part where cars drive is 19.1 feet (5.8 meters) wide.
The bridge is built with five strong steel I-beams. These beams rest on concrete supports at each end. The design for this bridge was a standard one used by the state highway department. They first created this design around 1905-1906. This type of steel beam bridge was one of the first designs the department used. They built many of these for shorter bridges in the 1910s.
The bridge also has concrete railings on both sides. These railings have words carved into them. One side says, "State trunkline Bridge 1914." The other side says, "Built by S-B-S Company Houghton."
This bridge is in great shape and looks almost exactly as it did when it was built. It was one of the first trunkline bridges to use the Michigan State Highway Department's steel beam design. In 1913–14, the department listed 22 new trunkline bridges. Almost half of them were this type of beam bridge. The Pike River Bridge is the only one of these early bridges that is still standing and hasn't been changed. This makes it a very important example of an early bridge design used in the Upper Peninsula.
Images for kids
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Road surface
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Words cast into guardrails
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Words cast into guardrails
