Historic Bridges of the U.S. | Upper Bluffton Bridge

Overview

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Photos

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Side view

Photos taken October 2005 by Jason & Birgit Smith

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Oblique view

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West portal

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Deck view

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Approach

Map

Vicinity map

Map links:

Facts

Overview: Through truss bridge over Upper Iowa River on W. Ravine Road
Location: Winneshiek County, Iowa
Status: Open to one-lane traffic
Future prospects: Scheduled for replacement in FY 2010
History: Built 1878 by the Wrought Iron Bridge Co.
Builder: - Wrought Iron Bridge Co. of Canton, Ohio
Design: Main span: Pin-connected, 8-panel Pratt through truss
Approach: Pin-connected, 3-panel Pratt pony truss
Dimensions: Length of largest span: 116.1 ft.
Total length: 154.2 ft.
Deck width: 14.8 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 11.0 ft.
Recognition: Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on May 15, 1998
Approximate latitude, longitude: +43.40292, -91.91344 (decimal degrees)
43°24'11" N, 91°54'48" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Land survey: T. 99 N., R. 9 W., Sec. 9 (Bluffton Township)
Inventory numbers: NRHP 98000458 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
BH 14764 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection (as of 06/2005): Deck condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Critical (2 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Appraisal: Structurally deficient
Sufficiency rating: 15.0 (out of 100)
Average daily traffic (as of 2001): 40

Update Log

December 19, 2005: Posted photos from Jason & Birgit Smith

Sources

Jason Smith - JDSmith77 [at] gmx [dot] net

Comments

Upper Bluffton Bridge

Posted November 13, 2006, by Annette Mather (amather [at] apolloboise [dot] com)

I have fond memories of this bridge. My grandmother lives on a farm about 1/2 to 3/4 mile of this bridge. When my cousin Luke and I would stay at her house, we'd always go through the back pasture to the Upper Iowa River. When the water would get too deep, we'd get on the road. On the road, we'd try to go to Bluffton, looking for mischief. Bluffton was about 3 miles away. It was always a long walk on the way back to Grandma's. The bridge was usually our turning around point.