Located to the west of Marengo, this bridge is the final crossing of Bear Creek, a series of streams running throughout Poweshiek and Iowa Counties.
Originally built in 1901, the bridge contained a pair of trusses. At some point, the western of these two trusses was replaced with a trio of deck girders.
In 1926, the deck girder spans would be replaced with a heavy duty through girder span. In addition, modular concrete girder spans were added to the east side in approximately 2010. These spans replaced standard trestle spans.
The main span of the bridge consists of a single 112'8" Quadrangular Through Truss with riveted connections. The portals form simple X shapes, and a date of 1901 is engraved into the portal.
The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the unique design of the trusses and the bleak future.
Iowa Interstate has begun a crusade to replace as many of the historic trusses on their routes as possible. Unfortunately, this truss bridge will likely be replaced in the near future.
The photo above is looking from US-6.