St. Paul Bridge

Information and Findings From DHPA Historic Bridge Survey

Bridge History and Significance

Previous Structure

There was probably a metal-truss bridge over the Flat Rock River at St. Paul before the current structure. The Shelby commissoners, for example, contracted with John Burk in November 1899 to repair about a dozen bridges, including the one at St. Paul for $115. In June 1910, the board employed Haymond and Hammond to clean the St. Paul Bridge with wire brushes and to apply a single coat of paint to the trusses.

Surveyed Structure

Shelby county sought bids in October 1910 for construction of a steel-truss bridge with a concrete floor over the Flat Rock at St. Paul. The board then contracted with the Lafayette Engineering Company for the superstructure at $4,049. Lafayette Engineering received payment for about half of its contract price in May 1911, at about the same time as Haymond and Howard won a contract for the construction of a concrete abutment and repair of the cut-stone pier. The "Record" shows a small payment of $435 on substructure work and the remainder of its contracted price for the superstructure in July 1911. This single-span, riveted Pratt through truss and Warren pony approach to the south is seated upon one cut stone and one concrete abutment and a stone masonry pier. Intermediate verticals of laced double angles subdivide the through trusses into most of their six panels. Angles riveted together with stay plates provide the lower chord members and the diagonals. There are no counter-braces. The four-panel pony's members are similar to those used on the through. Riveted to the verticals, I floor-beams carry the concrete deck. The through span has 16 feet and 6 inches of vertical roadway clearance. The county included the St. Paul Bridge on the list of structures Ray Heck was to repaint in 1927. These trusses retain their original members. They are unadorned except for decoratively latticed guardrails. References Butler, Fairman and Seufert, Inc., Bridge Inspection Report: Shelby County (Indianapolis, 1973). United Consulting Engineers, Inc., Bridge Reinspection Report For Shelby County (Indianapolis, 1978). SIECO, Inc., Bridge Reinspection Report: Shelby County (Columbus, 1990, 1994). "Construction News," Engineering News, 22 September 1910: 130; 6 October 1910: 155; 20 April 1911: 186. Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory, Shelby County: Interim Report (Indianapolis, 1992), 99, 101. Shelby County, "Commissioners Record," O: 77; R: 576-577; S: 40, 98, 103, 114, 116; T: 512-513.

Bridge Considered Historic By Survey: Yes