What served the public in 1910 could no longer accommodate today ’ s transportation needs . Two vehicles could not cross at the same time on the 16-foot-wide deck . The bridge was posted for a maximum 10-ton load .
That was the background facing Rock County and the towns of Turtle and La Prairie as they discussed the need to close or
replace the South Smith Road Bridge . Ayres was hired to design a replacement bridge , and local officials selected one of five alternatives . The future of the old bridge was clear : it would be replaced by a new structure .
Taking a second look
In most cases , that would have been the end of the old South Smith Road Bridge . But there were people who wanted to keep the old bridge , and that eventually added a rare dimension to an otherwise routine bridge replacement project .
“ Many members of the County Board , both town boards , as well as county and town staff recognized the significance and value of the bridge in the local area ,” said Duane Jorgenson , Rock County ’ s director of Public Works . “ There was a desire to find a way to preserve this unique bridge ’ s legacy in some fashion .”
Beyond local sentiment , the old bridge held historical value .
The Worden-Allen Company of Milwaukee built the metal bridge in sections , which were transported to Rock County and assembled on site . Design of the bridge had come a long way since its initial inception in the mid 1800s ; at the time it was the most common type of bridge to be built in the United States .
In the early 1900s field riveting equipment and workers trained in its use were rare . The South Smith Road Bridge is an unusual example of a truss bridge with original bolted connections . Although the bridge had been modified , it retained enough of its original construction and design to convey its engineering significance . A historical survey of the bridge completed in 2017 determined that it was eligible for placement on the National Register of Historic Places .
Most old bridges are dismantled and sold for scrap . Local resident Ken Luety was one of several parties who wanted to preserve the South Smith Road Bridge .
“ I ’ ve lived in the area all of my life ,” he said . “ When I was in fifth grade we moved to a place about a half-mile from that bridge . I drove across that bridge to date my future wife . I have a lifetime of memories of that bridge .”
A lengthy process unfolds
That 2017 determination that the old bridge was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places was just one step in a long process .
“ We knew how important it was to keep the coordination process going since mitigating the removal of a historic bridge can take a long time – much longer than a typical bridge project schedule would account for ,” said Amanda Inman , Ayres ’ project design engineer who worked on the project . “ All told , the environmental process on the project took about four times as long to complete . The final environmental document was about double the size of a typical bridge replacement document .” www . AyresAssociates . com 13