Bridge Highlights
This page is designed to show some interesting features of the bridge.
This picture without the siding and shingles exposes the piers; lower cords; arches; king posts; lateral braces; outriggers, to which the girts are nailed; girts, that the siding is nailed to and the original sheathing on top of the rafters. The sheathing has been replaced. This is the center span on the south side of the bridge.
This image shows the autograph of the two men who painted the bridge in 1906, according to Joe Reynolds of Brownstown. Joe is the Grandson of Mr. Lucas. The picture is between the siding and the roof on the outside arch of the south side of the east span and can be seen from the newer concrete bridge with binoculars.
There are many interesting theories as to how the bow was achieved in the arches in 1875. Dan Collom suggested that a very large slab was sawed from a huge tree for each of the 8 sections in an arch. Each section was then hand hewn at the top and bottom to form the bow. The above picture shows the axe marks on one of the orginal arch sections that has been replaced. They then planed most of the arches so the marks did not show but they can be seen on the top of the first section on the west end of the middle arch on the south side of the bridge. The bottom picture shows the slab for a replacement section of an arch. It was 45" at the widest point.
The doors in the side of the bridge over the piers on the north side were designed for access to the piers for cleaning out debris, maintenance and possibly for removal of waste.
The picture with the holes is the top of one of the kingposts that was replaced.
The skewback stones are part of the abutment and piers and are the stones the arches rest against. They are cut at the same angle as the arches for maximum strength. The picture on the left shows one of the skewback stones on the east end when the bridge was being raised for repair. It was in good shape, but the steel shoe it rests on was replaced. The center picture is one of the two skewback stones on the west abutment which were peplaced because of damage. The picture on the right shows initials on one of the piers. There are several sets and it is thought the stonecutters carved these and thats how they were paid.
The picture on the left shows the fish plate or scarf joint which is part of the lower chord. The lower chords run the full length of the bridge and are doubled with the notched joints spaced at intervals between to hold them in place. The picture on the right shows one of four expansion and contraction joints on the upper chords between the spans. The upper and lower chords were hand hewn because they were nearly 40' long between joints. Because of the pressure in the trees it was not possible to saw timber that long and keep it straight so it was necessary to hew them.
The crossbeams, verticle rods, new and old rafters and new sheeting or sheathing are in the picture on the left. On the right is a girt which is nailed to an outrigger which is nailed to a kingpost. The siding is not shown but it is nailed to the girts. On top are the new cedar shake shingles. Say that ten times!!!
The top floor has been replaced with three rows of the older flooring retained on each side.
The above pictures show the new east end parking area and the east entrance. The parking area is 35' wide by 30' deep. The entrance openings are approximately 40" to accomodate wide wheel chairs. Those with special needs may pull up to the entrance for loading and unloading. Just remember that others also have special needs.
