This uniquely reused girder bridge crosses the former Milwaukee Road mainline near the town of Aspinwall.
Built in 1913, the bridge features a single through girder span. This span was originally constructed for railroad use as an approach span to the pontoon bridge at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin in 1898. A large number of girder spans were reused by reconstructing the floor of a girder or pony truss span with new material, such as timber.
Nearly identical to the McKnight Road Overpass in Minnesota, this bridge features concrete piers and wooden trestle approaches. The girder features a hinged end, which functioned as a way to connect this span to the pontoon span.
This practice was widely practiced among American railroads, particularly during times of high material cost.
While many dozens of these such structures were built by the Milwaukee Road, only a few remain today. Most have been replaced due to low sufficiency ratings, as many of these bridges are substandard by modern standards. In addition, most of these bridges have received low sufficiency ratings due to deck issues, as well as inability to adequately inspect, due to a lack of structural plans which would contain details about the quality and size of materials used.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair condition, with some loss of the bases of the concrete piers.
The author has ranked the bridge as being moderately significant, due to the old age and unique design.
The photo above is an overview.