Lyndon Bridge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lyndon Bridge |
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| Carries | pedestrian traffic |
| Crosses | Rock River |
| Locale | Lyndon, Illinois |
| Maintained by | Village of Lyndon |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Parker Pratt through truss bridge |
| Total length | 600 feet (183 m) |
| Longest span | 200 feet (61 m) |
| History | |
| Construction begin | 1891 |
| Opened | 1894, 1998 |
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Lyndon Bridge
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 Location in Illinois
Location in the United States
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| Location | S end of 6th Ave. W, Lyndon, Illinois |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1894 |
| Architect | R.S. Riser |
| Architectural style | Parker Pratt through truss |
| NRHP reference No. | 03000353 |
| Added to NRHP | May 9, 2003 |
The Lyndon Bridge is a special metal bridge in the village of Lyndon, which is in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. It's a type of bridge called a Parker Pratt through truss bridge. An engineer named R.S. Riser designed it, and it was finished in 1894. Building it cost about $20,000 back then.
Whiteside County took care of the bridge for many years. But in 1980, it was closed to all traffic. In 1995, the county planned to tear it down. Luckily, a group of people from Lyndon worked hard to save it! Because of their efforts, the bridge was saved and later listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2003. This means it's an important historical site.
Bridge History
People in Lyndon first thought about building a bridge in 1876. But the idea wasn't approved until 1891.
In 1876, the village of Lyndon asked Whiteside County if they could build a bridge over the Rock River. The county said no at that time. They didn't talk about a bridge again until 1891. This time, the county agreed that Lyndon needed a bridge.
A special committee was formed to start the project. They met in June 1891 at the bridge site. In February 1892, they decided to ask companies to bid on building the bridge. At the same meeting, they chose R.S. Riser, an engineer, to design the bridge. He was paid $50 for his plans. The committee received eight bids from different companies. The lowest bid was $16,400, and the highest was $19,127. The committee chose the lowest bid from a company called Keefers & Wyncoop.
The committee kept meeting to decide on building details. For example, in July 1894, they hired a person to watch the bridge construction. He was paid $1.50 per day. The bridge was finished in late 1894. The total cost was $19,606.25.
When the bridge was first built, it was mostly for wagons. As time went on, automobiles and tractors became more common. So, in 1906, Whiteside County made changes to the bridge. They replaced the original wooden supports with strong steel I-beams. They also put down a new wooden deck and added steel rails. The bridge needed more work later because of floods. In 1912, another section was added to lift the bridge higher. This helped it stay above the flood plain.
The Whiteside County Highway Department kept good records of all the work done on the Lyndon Bridge. The wooden deck of the bridge has been replaced four times. This happened in 1906, 1920, 1968, and 1976.
In 1920, the bridge deck needed fixing again. After repairs, the bridge was painted. This was the last time it was painted. In 1939, the south support of the bridge started to sink. The concrete inside the support was getting old. Workers replaced the old concrete and poured a new concrete base. In 1968, the part of the bridge where the south road connects was fixed. A new deck was also put in, costing $6,800. The deck was replaced again in 1976 for $4,500.
The bridge was checked regularly, but it was used less and less. Trucks became heavier, and other roads were improved. This made the bridge less important. Even though it was a shortcut to farms and nearby towns like Prophetstown and Tampico, the county couldn't keep maintaining a bridge that wasn't used much. On June 30, 1980, an inspection led to the bridge being closed. No cars or pedestrians were allowed on it. For 15 years, the bridge, which had a four-ton weight limit, was left alone.
In 1995, the Whiteside County Highway Department decided to tear down the Lyndon Bridge. But a group of people in Lyndon wanted to save it. They started a successful "Save the Bridge" campaign. In 1998, the Village of Lyndon officially took ownership of the bridge. Even today, Whiteside County maps show the bridge as "abandoned."
Bridge Design
R.S. Riser's original plan was for a Parker Pratt bridge. This is a specific type of truss bridge. It had three sections, each 200 feet (61 meters) long. Each section had ten panels, about 20 feet (610 cm) long. Where each panel met, there were 15-inch (381 mm) I-beams. These beams held the supports for the bridge's deck.
Why the Bridge is Special
The Lyndon Bridge was very important for the history and growth of Lyndon. It made it much easier for people to get to the town. Today, the Lyndon Bridge is the last metal through truss bridge left in Whiteside County.
An official survey of Illinois bridges in 1994 looked at many bridges. It found 374 highway bridges that could be listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Out of all those, only six were Parker through truss bridges built around the same time as the Lyndon Bridge (1898-1917). The Lyndon Bridge was not part of this survey at first. However, the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency later decided that the Lyndon Bridge was also important enough to be on the National Register. It was officially added on May 9, 2003.
- Steele, Fred D. "Lyndon Bridge," (PDF), National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, HAARGIS Database, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Retrieved July 10, 2007.
