South Pointe Drive–Frenchman's Creek Bridge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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South Pointe Drive–Frenchman's Creek Bridge
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 Location in Michigan
Location in the United States
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| Location | South Pointe Dr. over Frenchman's Creek, Grosse Ile, Michigan |
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| Area | 0.9 acres (0.36 ha) |
| Built | 1939 |
| Architect | Wayne County Road Commission |
| Architectural style | T-beam |
| MPS | Highway Bridges of Michigan MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 00000117 |
| Added to NRHP | February 18, 2000 |
The South Pointe Drive–Frenchman's Creek Bridge is a special bridge found in Grosse Ile, Michigan. It crosses over a small waterway called Frenchman's Creek. This bridge is important because it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in the year 2000. This means it's a historic landmark worth protecting!
History of the Bridge
In the middle of the 1930s, the local road department, known as the Wayne County Road Commission, became responsible for an old bridge. This bridge was made of wood and stretched across Frenchman's Creek.
Why a New Bridge Was Needed
The road department first planned to just replace the wooden top part of the bridge. But when they looked closely, they found a big problem. The whole bridge was very weak because of something called dry rot. This is when wood decays and becomes crumbly. The damage was so bad that the bridge needed to be replaced right away.
The road department didn't have enough money to build a new bridge on their own. So, they got help from a special government program called the Works Progress Administration. This program helped people find jobs during tough economic times.
Building the New Bridge
The new bridge was designed to be much stronger. It was built using concrete and shaped like a "T-beam," which is a strong way to build with concrete. To help shape the concrete, workers used wooden forms that had been used for another project by the Works Progress Administration. The construction of this new, sturdy bridge was finished in 1939. The original design for the bridge also included a decorative railing, called a balustrade, along each side.
