Plymouth: Bridge City

Part 2 in the series on Plymouth's historic bridges

The second phase of bridge construction employed new technology developed at the close of the 19th Century. Concrete cast into arched forms provided a modern approach to traversing the Yellow River.

Jefferson Street/Lincoln Highway Bridge, 1927
Type: Filled-spandrel two-arch; skewed. In 1987 a cantilevered deck was installed and the project removed rails and lampposts. The original engineer is unknown.
The new alignment’s path (1928) of the Lincoln Highway in Indiana was fully decided except for the path it would take through the City of Plymouth. There were two sides lobbying for their own path the highway would take. Ultimately the state told Marshall County if they could not decide, it would be decided for them and a deadline was given. Several meetings followed until the night before the deadline and in packed chambers at the high school, both sides presented their case for their preferred path. The two choices were between the downtown, using Pennsylvania Avenue, or Jefferson Street. The City and downtown businessmen lobbied for the downtown route, while others preferred Jefferson Street. If the Jefferson Street route was chosen, a new bridge would have to be constructed over the Yellow River. If the downtown route was chosen, the highway could use the new Garro Street Bridge. Ultimately the group promoting the use of Jefferson Street won because they were able to show that even with the construction of a new bridge, their path would be less expensive to construct. The new Jefferson Street/Lincoln Highway Bridge was constructed between 1927-1928 for the sole purpose of the new alignment of the Lincoln Highway.

Garro Street Bridge, 1919
Type: Filled spandrel two-arch; skewed with triangular cutwater and paneled pier pilaster, National Concrete Company, builders
The concrete bridge was constructed at the river crossing of one of Plymouth’s most important cross streets. It retains significant integrity despite the loss of its ornate streetlights mounted at each corner. Arched concrete bridges of this period were constructed using wood planks as the underside of the bridge form. The plank and wood grain marks can still be seen in the concrete under the arches.

Michigan Street Bridge, 1917
Type: Filled spandrel two-arch; Daniel Luten, engineer
The bridge forms the southern terminus of the Plymouth Downtown Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. The bridge was restored in 2007 with handrails sympathetic to the original design with the added feature of lampposts in the style of the historic residential areas of Michigan Street. Daniel Luten was a world-renown concrete bridge engineer and created some of the most spectacular spans in the United States. He taught engineering at Purdue University. The current bridge replaced an early steel truss bridge; the original drawings for the steel bridge are located at the Marshall County Museum. The Marshall County Commissioners restored the bridge in 2007.

Plymouth: Bridge City

Part 1 of a 2 part series on the Historic Bridges of Plymouth
Most people wouldn't think of Plymouth as a city of bridges, but indeed with the meandering nature of the Yellow River and the route of the former Pennsylvania Railroad through the city, bridges were a very important part of a transportation plan even when the city was a mere town of a few thousand souls. There are six historic bridges in the City of Plymouth, three are steel and date to an earlier period of time, the other three are concrete. The following are those fabricated in steel:

LaPorte Street Footbridge, 1898
Type: Steel suspension bridge, Rochester Bridge Company, builder
The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of only three historic footbridges in the State of Indiana. All three are suspension bridges, meaning that the deck, or walkway, is suspended by cabling to the end piers. The other two bridges are newer and were part of the New Deal projects in Turkey Run State Park and Winamac. The Rochester Bridge Company operated out of Rochester, Indiana and was a prolific bridge fabrication plant for the Midwest.

Pennsylvania Railroad Viaduct, c. 1900
Type: Pony plate girder truss with two spans on rusticated limestone abutments and center pier. About 1995 the railroad covered the center pier with concrete.
When the Pennsylvania Railroad first came through Northern Indiana in 1856 its route through Plymouth crossed the historic Michigan Road with little problem. But as Michigan Street became more traveled it is believed the railroad created an earlier viaduct which then was expanded in about 1900 to accommodate two sets of tracks. Close examination of the stone abutments show various symbols indicating to builders how to construct the abutments, as well as the difference between the earlier stone used for the original abutment and the 1900 construction.

Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge, 1902
Type: Eight panel full-hip Pratt pony truss style metal bridge on rusticated limestone abutments, American Bridge Company of New York, builder
In James Cooper’s Historic Metal Bridge Inventory, it states this bridge is among the earliest examples of the Pratt pony span built on Indiana’s rail system that still exists and references the heavy members designed for unusual load-bearing capabilities. As part of the city’s greenway plans a canoe portage will be located below the bridge on the sandy shore of the Yellow River. James Cooper is a professor at Ball State University and is considered the leading authority on Indiana bridges.

Lincoln Highway Byway

The Indiana Lincoln Highway Association has also submitted a state byway nomination for the Lincoln Highway across Indiana. In Indiana the original Lincoln Highway route was established by Carl Fisher, also founder of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in 1913. The route went from the Ohio line into Ft. Wayne, then to Goshen, Elkhart, South Bend, LaPorte and Valparaiso before heading west across the Illinois line. The demand for a more direct route across the state resulted in what we know as the Lincoln Highway through Marshall County. Once it left Ft. Wayne the route traveled through Columbia City, Warsaw, Plymouth, and Wanatah before reconnecting with the original route in Valparaiso. This was established between 1927-28.

Heminger Travel Lodge, Plymouth 1937

In Marshall County the route passed through Bourbon, Inwood, Plymouth and Donaldson and unlike other portions of the road that became U.S. 30, the Marshall County portion of the LH is entirely intact. And what is even better is that many of the roadside architecture also exists from that time.

Faulkner Garage, Bourbon

The Indiana Lincoln Highway Association has already made their presentation to the Indiana Department of Transportation and are awaiting word from the Lt. Governor's office on the byway nomination. Just as the Michigan Road Byway was developed to encourage tourism in Marshall County, the Lincoln Highway Byway will also become a draw for communities along the route.

Michigan Road is heading for byway status

An application nominating the Historic Michigan Road between Madison and Michigan City, Indiana was submitted to the Indiana Department of Transportation on December 21st. The nomination was submitted by a steering committee composed of individuals from the counties through which the historic route passes; members include elected and appointed officials, Main Street, economic development and tourism directors, historians, and business owners. The nomination has received nearly 80 letters of support and endorsements from a myriad of boards and individuals along the route.

The Michigan Road was funded by the State Legislature in 1826, surveyed in 1829 with construction following in 1830. By 1836 the route was essentially complete across Indiana. The 270 mile stretch of road began in Madison and ended at Michigan City by way of the new state capital at Indianapolis. The primary purpose of the road was to spur development of the northern part of the fledgling state, as well as create access to shipping ports on the Ohio River and Lake Michigan. The road generally follows Highways 421, 29, 25, then Old US 31 to South Bend, then Highway 20 to Michigan City.

An organizational meeting was held in Logansport in May, 2009 for the formation of the committee. Co-organizers Jim Grey of Indianapolis and Kurt Garner of Plymouth began the effort to have Indiana’s first state commissioned road designated a historic byway with a meeting of interested parties in Rochester in January, 2009. After the formation of the committee, the byway proposal was presented in communities along the route including Madison, Greensburg, Shelbyville, Indianapolis, Zionsville, Argos, Plymouth, LaPaz, Lakeville, and New Carlisle, as well as at the State Byway Conference in Aurora and the Historic Transportation Conference in Delphi during 2010.

If approved by the state, the Historic Michigan Road Byway will tap into the growing heritage tourism industry, which could prove a valuable development tool for local communities’ economies. The road would become the first state byway to traverse the state in a north/south direction, tying the state together for tourism initiatives. The committee anticipates the inclusion of the byway on state maps, directional signage, and marketing materials as the byway moves from concept to reality.

For more information on the Historic Michigan Road Byway project contact the committee or take a tour of the road at http://www.historicmichiganroad.org/. The Historic Michigan Road is also on Facebook.