Historic Bridges of the U.S. | Davis Bridge

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Photos

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Overall View Of Bridge And Upper Iowa River, Looking South

"With a 120-foot span length and a 15-foot roadway, the Davis Bridge displays relatively modest dimensions. The superstructure consists of a single bowstring through arch-truss, the webs of which are subdivided into ten panels. The span is configured like all of WIBCo's bowstrings, with the arches and verticals acting in compression and the lower chords and diagonals acting in tension."

HAER Report, August 1991

Photo by Clayton B. Fraser, August 1991, for HAER

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Overall View Of Bridge And County Road 16, Looking West

Photo by Clayton B. Fraser, August 1991, for HAER

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Overall View Of Bridge And Upper Iowa River, Looking Northwest

Photo by Clayton B. Fraser, August 1991, for HAER

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View Showing East Portal Of Bridge, Looking West

Photo by Clayton B. Fraser, August 1991, for HAER

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View Showing South Web Of Bridge, Looking Northwest

Photo by Clayton B. Fraser, August 1991, for HAER

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View Showing West Portal Of Bridge, Looking East

Photo by Clayton B. Fraser, August 1991, for HAER

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Underside View Of Bridge, Showing Floor System In Foreground And Concrete-Parged Pier In Background, Looking West

Photo by Clayton B. Fraser, August 1991, for HAER

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Detail View Of West Stone Pier And Approach, Looking Southwest

Photo by Clayton B. Fraser, August 1991, for HAER

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Detail View Of Bridge Deck, Showing Arches, Verticals, Guard Rails And Wood Decking, Looking West

Photo by Clayton B. Fraser, August 1991, for HAER

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Detail View Of Bridge Deck, Showing Typical Vertical/Outrider, Arch Segment And Diagonals, Looking North

Photo by Clayton B. Fraser, August 1991, for HAER

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Detail View Of Bridge Deck, Showing End-Panel Vertical, Arch Segment, Lower Chord And Floor System, Looking Northeast

Photo by Clayton B. Fraser, August 1991, for HAER

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Detail View Of End-Panel Lower Chord/Vertical Connection, Looking Northeast

Photo by Clayton B. Fraser, August 1991, for HAER

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Detail View Of End-Panel Lower Chord/Vertical Connection, Looking South

Photo by Clayton B. Fraser, August 1991, for HAER

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Detail View Of Typical Upper Chord/Vertical Connection, Looking Northeast

Photo by Clayton B. Fraser, August 1991, for HAER

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Detail View Of Typical Cast-Iron Bearing Shoe, Looking North

Photo by Clayton B. Fraser, August 1991, for HAER

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Detail View Of Typical Lower Chord Splice, Looking Northwest

Photo by Clayton B. Fraser, August 1991, for HAER

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Detail View Of Typical Lower Chord/Vertical Connection, Looking Northwest

Photo by Clayton B. Fraser, August 1991, for HAER

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Detail View Of Typical Diagonals, Showing Connection Clamp, Looking North

Photo by Clayton B. Fraser, August 1991, for HAER

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Map

Vicinity Map

Vicinity map

Map links:

Facts

Overview: Lost Bowstring pony truss bridge over Upper Iowa River on Mill Road in Forest City Township
Location: Forest City Township, Howard County, Iowa
Status: Replaced by new bridge
History: Built 1879; Replaced 1992
Builder: - Wrought Iron Bridge Co. of Canton, Ohio
Design: "Built in 1879, the Davis Bridge was one of a handful of iron spans erected in Howard County following the failure of several early timber structures. It was fabricated and built by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company, perhaps the most prolific 19th century iron bridge fabricator in the country. The wrought iron composition and bowstring configuration of the Davis Bridge clearly place it in the milieu of 1870's bridge construction. But its pinned connections and boxed-channel arches are features more commonly associated with later truss technology. The Davis Bridge is thus distinguished as a transition between two mainstay 19th century wagon bridge types: the bolted bowstring arch-truss and the pinned Pratt truss. The oldest wagon bridge remaining in Howard County and one of the oldest in Iowa, the Davis Bridge is both historically and technologically significant to the development of bridge building in Iowa."
Ron D. Ashback-Sladek and Clayton B. Fraser
Fraserdesign
Loveland, Colorado
December 1991
`
Dimensions: Total length: 120 ft.
Deck width: 15 ft.
Approximate latitude, longitude: +43.46667, -92.30833 (decimal degrees)
43°28'00" N, 92°18'30" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates: 15/555948/4812871 (zone/easting/northing)
USGS topographic map: Lime Springs
Inventory number: BH 37363 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Update Log

September 4, 2008: Added by J.R. Manning

Sources

J.R. Manning - thekitchenguy [at] sbcglobal [dot] net
HAER IA-35 - Davis Bridge

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