HistoricBridges.org Menu: HistoricBridges.org Menu:


We Recommend:
Bach Steel - Experts at historic truss bridge restoration.

HistoricBridges.org: Bridge Browser

Derby Street Bridge

Derby Street Bridge

Primary Photographer(s): Nathan Holth

Bridge Documented: 2006

View Photos
and Videos
View Maps
and Links

Facility Carried / Feature Intersected
Derby Street Over Railroad (Canadian National)
Location
Birmingham: Oakland County, Michigan: United States
Structure Type
Concrete T-Beam, Fixed
Construction Date and Builder / Engineer
1930 By Builder/Contractor: Unknown
Rehabilitation Date
2007
Main Span Length
32.0 Feet (9.8 Meters)
Structure Length
165.0 Feet (50.3 Meters)
Roadway Width
30 Feet (9.14 Meters)
Spans
5 Main Span(s)
Inventory Number
634074600043R01

Historic Significance Rating (HSR)
View Information About HSR Ratings

Bridge Documentation

This bridge has been altered, resulting in a severe loss of historic integrity and significance!

Bridge Status: Original railings have been replaced!

View Archived National Bridge Inventory Report - Has Additional Details and Evaluation

Listed on MDOT's website is this unusual bridge which is a bit south of the nearby Trowbridge Road Bridge. Compared to Trowbridge Road, this bridge is much simpler in appearance. The bridge is still very much an attractive bridge. Architectural treatment is shown in the arrangement of rectangles on the railings, as well as the beams themselves. The railings are curved at the ends of the bridge to add to the decorative effect. The piers have fancy little concrete brackets at the top which provide a visual transition from beam to pier.

MDOT's website provides a good narrative for the history of this bridge.

This bridge has been maintained in a better fashion than the Trowbridge Road Bridge, and the railings are in decent shape. The railings are likely in better shape because of the protective white cement paint put on them. Even more recently, a repair project was undertaken for the bridge in 2007. Some of the visible work being done included expansion joint replacement and deck repair at the ends of the structure.

Information and Findings From Michigan Historic Bridge Inventory

Narrative Description

The Derby Road Bridge was built as part of a major reconstruction of Woodward Avenue a few blocks to the west. Woodward was among the first improved roads in the state. Made into a corduroy road in 1817, it extended northwest from the nascent town of Detroit to Six Mile Road. When Pontiac was founded further to the northwest two years later, the trip from there to Detroit took two days.

The city and county consistently improved the route, and some parts were paved with concrete for the first time in 1915. But by the late 1910s, pressure was building to significantly upgrade Woodward Avenue from downtown Detroit to Pontiac. During this period, Detroit expanded its municipal boundary from Six Mile Road to Eight Mile Road. The city made plans to widen and pave Woodward in this section, but as Wayne County Road Commissioner Edward Hines noted: "No sooner has an improvement . . . taken place than the road immediately becomes congested."

In addition to burgeoning commuter and pleasure traffic, many of the automobiles produced in Pontiac and Flint were driven to dealers. Hines concluded: "All the history of the past shows that our failures have been due to underestimating the future rather than in overshooting the mark."

In an aggressive move to get ahead of the demand, the road commissions of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Counties, together with the Rapid Transit Commission of Detroit and affected local governments, coordinated their efforts to create a region-wide master plan for road improvements. In 1923, they succeeded in getting the state legislature to pass the "Wider Woodward Avenue Bill," which committed the state to share with adjacent communities the costs of transforming Woodward into a "superhighway" between Detroit and Pontiac.

The state highway department's 1931-1932 biennial report describes the many impediments it faced while procuring the necessary 200-foot-wide right-of-way: "The Department has been confronted with almost every conceivable obstacle in the widening of this highway, including the removal of scores of business blocks and residences in Royal Oak, the moving of portions of three cemeteries in Ferndale, the shifting of 7-1/2 miles of Detroit United Railway tracks and the removal of the 9 mile section of the Grand Trunk Western Railroad between Royal Oak and Bloomfield Center. By far the biggest obstacle encountered was the removal of the Grand Trunk Railroad to a location approximately three-fourths of a mile east."

The railroad only agreed to cooperate after a lively legal and political battle. Then, lawsuits from Oakland and Wayne Counties challenged the constitutionality of the arrangement, which was finally resolved in the state's favor by the U.S. Supreme Court in March 1930.

Excavation for the tracks began even before the court case was settled. The Birmingham Eccentric reported on 12 September 1929 that 150 men were digging a 55-foot cut, "the longest in any section," at Trowbridge Farm. At the same time, the state and railroad worked on plans for the eighteen grade separations required by the project. The designs were apparently prepared by the railroad, since they are unlike standard highway department construction of the period. A. Guthrie & Company, a contractor from St. Paul, Minnesota, finished sixteen of the structures in 1930, but did not complete the Trowbridge Road Bridge until fall 1931. Ultimately, the relocation of the railroad tracks cost about $7 million.

Statement of Significance

The Derby Road Bridge is eligible for the National Register as a representative product of a massive engineering project that affected developmental patterns in Detroit and associated communities to the northwest. The Derby Road Bridge is also noteworthy for its false-arch design.

Most of the grade separation structures built as part of the Grand Trunk project carried the railroad over vehicular traffic. In only a few cases did a road pass over the tracks, and most of these structures have experienced significant modifications that have damaged the integrity of their original design. The Trowbridge Road Street Bridge, also in Oakland County, is another of the rare well-preserved products of the Grand Trunk project, and it, too, is eligible for the National Register.

Divider

Photo Galleries and Videos: Derby Street Bridge

 

View Photo Gallery

Bridge Photo-Documentation

A collection of overview and detail photos. This photo gallery contains a combination of Original Size photos and Mobile Optimized photos in a touch-friendly popup viewer.
Alternatively, Browse Without Using Viewer

Divider

Maps and Links: Derby Street Bridge

Coordinates (Latitude, Longitude):

Search For Additional Bridge Listings:

Bridgehunter.com: View listed bridges within 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) of this bridge.

Bridgehunter.com: View listed bridges within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of this bridge.

HistoricBridges.org Bridge Browser: View listed bridges within 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) of this bridge.

HistoricBridges.org Bridge Browser: View listed bridges within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of this bridge.

2021 National Bridge Inventory: View listed bridges within 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) of this bridge.

Additional Maps:

Google Maps

Google Streetview (If Available)

Bing Maps

OpenStreetMap

GeoHack (Additional Links and Coordinates)

Apple Maps (Via DuckDuckGo Search)

Apple Maps (Apple devices only)

MapQuest

HERE We Go Maps

ACME Mapper

Waze Map

Android: Open Location In Your Map or GPS App

Flickr Gallery (Find Nearby Photos)

Wikimedia Commons (Find Nearby Photos)

Directions Via Sygic For Android

Directions Via Sygic For iOS and Android Dolphin Browser

USGS National Map (United States Only)

Historical USGS Topo Maps (United States Only)

Historic Aerials (United States Only)

CalTopo Maps (United States Only)


Divider
 
Home Top

Divider

About - Contact

© Copyright 2003-2024, HistoricBridges.org. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer: HistoricBridges.org is a volunteer group of private citizens. HistoricBridges.org is NOT a government agency, does not represent or work with any governmental agencies, nor is it in any way associated with any government agency or any non-profit organization. While we strive for accuracy in our factual content, HistoricBridges.org offers no guarantee of accuracy. Information is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. Information could include technical inaccuracies or errors of omission. Opinions and commentary are the opinions of the respective HistoricBridges.org member who made them and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone else, including any outside photographers whose images may appear on the page in which the commentary appears. HistoricBridges.org does not bear any responsibility for any consequences resulting from the use of this or any other HistoricBridges.org information. Owners and users of bridges have the responsibility of correctly following all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, regardless of any HistoricBridges.org information.

Admin Login

Divider