Property Record
OLD WELLS RD AND RR TRACKS
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | OLD WELLS ROAD BRIDGE |
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| Other Name: | |
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| Reference Number: | 23606 |
| Location (Address): | OLD WELLS RD AND RR TRACKS |
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| County: | Eau Claire |
| City: | Eau Claire |
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| Year Built: | 1911 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1997 |
| Historic Use: | bridge |
| Architectural Style: | NA (unknown or not a building) |
| Structural System: | Wood Truss |
| Wall Material: | Wood |
| Architect: | Chicago and Northwestern Railway Co. |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | Yes |
| Demolished Date: | 1996 |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Old Wells Road Bridge |
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| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| 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. Centered between timber girders on timber pile bents, the Old Wells Road Bridge provides an illustration of Howe truss bridge design. The Howe truss patented in 1840 featured metal verticals functioning as tension members and wooden diagonals functioning as compression members. Otherwise recognized as a composite bridge (being constructed of wood and metal), the Howe truss was an improvement over all wood bridges, but by the turn of the century the all metal Pratt and Warren truss bridges were preferred. One 1905 publication furnished the following information on Howe trusses: "The Howe truss has proved to be the most useful style of bridge ever devised in a new and timbered country. It is still very largely used in America for both highway and railroad purposes. Railroad bridges of this kind are actually built on the ground by squads of 'bridge' carpenters, and are very cheap." The last statement may well refer to the preference of the Chicago and NorthWestern Railroad to construct the Howe truss on Old Wells Road even when the other truss types were prevalent. The specific measurements of the Old Wells Road bridge are: a span of 38', a width of 19'11", and a clearance (that is, from the tracks below) of 22 1/2'. The deck is wooden and does not feature the metal wearing surface that was often added later. Timber trestles provide the approaches to the bridge. The Old Wells Road Bridge, located in the city of Eau Claire, is the best preserved example of a Howe truss bridge in the State of Wisconsin. One of two Howe truss bridges (the other is located on Seventh Street in Hudson) identified in a 1981-82 WisDOT truss bridge survey (only public highway bridges were surveyed), the bridge, which spans a double track main line of the Chicago and NorthWestern Railroad, was restored to its 1911 design capacity in 1981. pony truss bridge |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. WisDOT Historic Bridge Inventory |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |