| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office.
This bridge has been moved.
Historical Report
Pratt trusses are one of the two predominant truss types in Wisconsin as well as the United States in the late nineteenth century. In Wisconsin, overhead Pratt trusses are generally from 90 to 110 feet in length. (1). The Pratt's distinctive features are verticals, light diagonals and a flat top chord. (2). Pins were used as connections for the joints into the early twentieth century.
The truss was constructed with a 110 foot span. It has a clear roadway of 13.3 feet and a centerline-to-centerline of truss distance of 16.9 feet. The height of the truss measured from lower chord to upper chord is 20.0 feet. It has approximately 16 feet of clearance to normal water.
The Channey Road bridge is similar to many Pratt trusses constructed during this period. (3). The bridge uses two rolled steel channels with a riveted steel top plate for the top chord and end posts. The compression verticals consist of two rolled steel channels with diagonal lacing. The remaining verticals and diagonal members consist of round or rectangular bars. The top lateral bracings are round rods whereas the portal bracing consists of rolled angle members. The floor system consists of a transverse wood deck with longitudinal wheel treads supported on rolled steel stringers and floor beams. The deck was probably placed in 1935, the year the truss was reassembled. The bridge is supported by a plate for the fixed bearing and a roller assembly for the expansion end. The roller bearing is extremely deteriorated and is totally inoperable.
Preliminary conversations with elderly area residents indicated that the structure was moved to its present site in the early to mid-1930s by a local CCC camp (Civilian Conservation Corps). Contacts with about 25 residents of the Eau Claire, Augusta, Fairchild, and Neillsville area narrowed the move date to the period from 1934 to 1936. (4). Camp Globe, located near Rock Dam County Park in Clark County about 10 miles from the site, did erect a 110 foot steel bridge linking a network of fire trails during the summer of 1935. No mention was made of the origins of the structure. (5).
A triangular "State Highway" stencil is barely visible on the end post of the bridge. Assuming the numerals are "21", the structure may have originally been sited in Juneau County across the Wisconsin or Yellow rivers. Research of the Juneau County Board Proceedings produced no references to a highway 21 construction project near the date of the move. Contracts with local residents and the WDOT offices in Wisconsin Rapids indicate the bridge was probably sited in or near Necedah. A picture postcard of the "Pete-eu-nell Bridge, Neceedah" shows a two span Pratt overhead truss but the portal configuration and other details are not the same as the Channey Road Bridge. (6).
The Historic Bridge Advisory Committee determined that within the category for Pratt overhead trusses, those built between 1890 and 1910 formed a distinctive subcategory.
The date of construction and name of the manufacturer have not been confirmed, while information is available for some of the other selected bridges. Without the confirmation of date and manufacturer, Channey Road rates lower than the selected bridges. It is improbable that further research on the Channey Road bridge would confirm the date and manufacturer. pony truss bridge
2025: No Streetview. Nonextant per aerial. |
|---|
| Bibliographic References: | 1. Information compiled by Robert S. Newberry, historian for Wisconsin Department of Transportation. In 1985 there were 40 bridges in this category.
2. "Ordinary Iron Highway Bridges" by Robert Newberry and H.W. Guy Meyer, Wisconsin Academy Review, March, 1984, pgs. 34-37.
3. An on-site inspection and photographs of the Channey Road bridge in August, 1986 by David Pantzlaff.
4. The follwoing is a partial listing of contacts conducted during September, October and November of 1986.
Leonard Guth, WDOT-District #4
Carl Wolke, Juneau County Clerk
Francis Finucan, Juneay County Highway Department
Jooanne Lester, Eau Clarie County Clerk
Thomas Walter, Eau Claire County Highway Department
Rose Chub, Clark County Clerk
Marv Hemp, Clark County Highway Department
Search of newspapers 1934-1936, Greenwood Gleaner, Augusta Union and Clark County Press.
Proceedings of Clark and Eau Claire County Boards not available in published form.
5. "Camp Globe CCC Does Good Work," Clark County Press April 16, 1936.
6. Location File, Iconography Division, SHSW. The postcard is identified by SHSW as "Petenwell bridge ca. 1905-1910 (?).
7. Report by David H. Pantzlaff, P.E., Ayers Associates and Robert S. Newberry, Wisconsin Department of Transportation. |
|---|
