Murray D. Van Wagoner Memorial Bridge

The Murray D. Van Wagoner Memorial Bridge is a bridge carrying M-156 over Silver Creek in Morenci, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.[1]

Murray D. Van Wagoner Memorial Bridge
The Murray D. Van Wagoner Memorial Bridge carrying M-156 over Silver Creek in Morenci, Michigan.
LocationM-156 over Silver Creek, Morenci, Michigan
Coordinates41°42′44″N 84°12′42″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1935 (1935)
Built byW.H. Knapp Company; Michigan State Highway Department
Architectural styleSteel I-beam stringer
MPSHighway Bridges of Michigan MPS
NRHP reference No.99001731[1]
Added to NRHPJanuary 27, 2000

History

Morenci was founded in 1852 and served as an important industrial and grain mill center. At one point, a 40-foot (12 m) Pratt pony truss was constructed at this site. However, by the early 1930s, this bridge was in very poor condition. In 1935, the state of Michigan entered into a cooperative venture with the Taft Memorial Highway Association, which had been founded in 1930 to create a memorial highway extending from Florida to Michigan to honor William Howard Taft. Part of the venture involved replacing the bridge at this location.[2]

The state hired Monroe-based W.H. Knapp Company to construct the bridge at a cost of $35,700 (equivalent to $533 thousand in 2019[3]). The bridge was dedicated on July 31, 1935, and featured a speech by Murray Van Wagoner, after whom the city council had named the bridge. Van Wagoner was the head of the Michigan State Highway Department from 1933 until 1940, when he was elected governor.[2]

The bridge was rehabilitated in 2000. In 2004, the 1893 Sterling Road truss bridge was relocated from Hillsdale County to the adjacent site for use as a crossing on the pedestrian trail.[4]

Description

The bridge is 45 feet (14 m) long and carries a span with a 41.4-foot-wide (12.6 m) deck with a 33-foot-wide (10 m) roadway bordered by sidewalks. The deck is edged by railings made of concrete posts with ornamental metal lattice sections fixed in between. Approach railings are bolted to the inner face of each endpost. The substructure of the bridge is made up of concrete abutments and wing walls with a decorative stepped motif.[2]

  • The Murray D. Van Wagoner Memorial Bridge and the 1893 Sterling Road truss bridge.
  • The Michigan Historical Marker for the Murray D. Van Wagoner Memorial Bridge.

See also
  •  Transport portal
  •  Engineering portal
  •  Michigan portal
  •  National Register of Historic Places portal

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Rounds, Shawn; Raise, Charlene K. (January 1998). "Murray D. Van Wagoner Memorial Bridge" (National Register of Historic Places Registration Form).
  3. Thomas, Ryland; Williamson, Samuel H. (2020). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved September 22, 2020. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the Measuring Worth series.
  4. "M-156 Bridge". HistoricBridges.org. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
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