CR-220 Southwest Bridge

Information and Findings From DHPA Historic Bridge Survey

Statement of Significance

Stone arches were not typically designed with segmental rings. Few of Decatur County's segmental stone arches are multispan and fewer yet have so little rise.

Architectural Description

Local craftsmen built most of Indiana's stone arches from regional materials just before or in the first fifteen years of the twentieth century. Most stonemasons preferred full-centered or semicircular arches in which the line of pressure passes through the center of each stone in the arch ring until carried vertically into the substructure. In some cases, though, masons erected segmental arches in which the intrados is less than half a circle. To function successfully, segmental arches require the substructure to accommodate some horizontal as well as some vertical pressure.

Most of the state's stone arches span streams in south-central counties. Decatur County built and retains the largest number of which less than a third are segmental. By World War I, the growing popularity of concrete, which engineers could readily adjust to the special needs of each specific bridge site, quietly ended stone arch construction in the region.

This limestone, three-span structure is 80' long and carries a 17'6" asphalt roadway between stone walls. The arch rings are segmental, and their stones are roughly-cut and mortared. The intrados of the outer spans have been reinforced with concrete. Springing from near the water level, the arches rise about 5' over outer spans of 20' and a central one of 19'. The bridge has stone footings, abutments, and wingwalls.

Other Information

In March 1872, the Decatur board appropriated $500 as a contribution to the Sand Creek Turnpike Company to aid in "constructing a bridge across Sand Creek on their road." The appropriation could have applied to #114, #118, or #190. It is unclear whether local citizens in the early twentieth century considered #114 or #117 as the "Harris City Bridge." In any case, J. M. Mathews received $30 for repairing the bridge's wingwalls of the bridge near Harris City in June 1908. In response to damages inflicted by the big 1913 flood, the commissioners accepted the plans and specifications which "J. A. Stagg, Engineer," submitted for "reconstruction of a wall" and fill of the "Harris city bridge." McQueen and Watkins secured a $267 contract for the repair in May, and the county paid them in December. The arch rings are low and quite segmental. They are also placed under considerable fill.

The intrados of the stone rings were concrete-encased in the late 1970s, and corrugated metal-plate liners inserted in 1986. The up-stream piers now carry concrete cut-waters.

Bridge Considered Historic By Survey: Yes