South County Line Road Bridge

Information and Findings From DHPA Historic Bridge Survey

Bridge History and Significance

The contracting for and construction of this all-riveted, steel structure on the county line remains as obscure as its general design is unexceptional for the 1920s or 1930s. Offset from one another, the five-panel trusses are balanced by the addition of a hip vertical at one end to pick up an outer floor beam. Typical for all-riveted, pony-truss construction, almost all the members except for the top chord -- made from channels, cover plate, and battens -- depend upon angles. The lower chord and verticals consist of two pairs of angles and battens, the members generally being riveted at their ends to gussets. The diagonals consist of a pair of heavy angles and battens. Angles also provide the bracing, too. External sway braces -- attached to the verticals above and below -- and lower laterals -- from floor-beam to floor-beam -- stiffen the trusses against moving loads. Rolled I floor-beams riveted to angles then bolted to gussets and the verticals above the lower chord support the I beam stringers which carry the asphalt-coated, timber roadway. Latticed rails line the trusses and extend beyond them at the entrances to guide traffic into the offset trusses. This fairly long, riveted span is unusual for its skew and the structural response to it. It retains its original members including its latticed guardrails. References Butler, Fairman & Seufert, Inc., Bridge Inspection /Reinspection Report: Allen County (Indianapolis: 1973, 1977, 1981). SIECO, Inc., Bridge Reinspection Report: Allen County (Columbus, 1993, 1995). Farrar, Garvey & Associates, Allen County: Bridge Inspection (Indianapolis, 2002, 2004). Indiana Historic Sites & Structures Inventory, An Architectural Atlas of Wells County, Indiana (Bluffton, 1986), 78-79.

Bridge Considered Historic By Survey: Yes