B-32-0050
WisDOT Designation: Local - Rural
Current Owner: County of La Crosse
Year Built: 1939
County: La Crosse County
Crossing: Coon Creek
Bridge Category: Riveted, Warren pony truss
Spans and Type: 1 span, pony truss
Overall Length and Width: 100 feet x
23 feet, 2 inches
National Register of Historic Places Status: Determined Eligible for listing in the National Register
Details
The bridge is a 100-foot-long, steel, riveted, Warren pony truss. It has a 23-foot-wide bituminous, cast-in-place, concrete deck. The 6-inch deck slab rests on six I-beam stringers supported by concrete abutments. The stringers are intersected by six floor beams and laterally braced with cross-bracing that is connected with intersection plates and riveted to the bottom chord. The bottom chord is built of back-to-back channels riveted with batten plates. The top chord has inclined end posts and is constructed of back-to-back channels that are enclosed with a top plate and underside V-lacing. The vertical, diagonal and lateral members and end posts are all riveted to the top chord with splice and gusset plates.
The Town of Washington, in the southeast corner of La Crosse County, was one of the last towns settled in the county due to its rocky and hilly terrain. Despite the terrain, the soil was fertile and suitable for farming. Beginning with the arrival of John Johnn in 1854, the town of Washington was settled by primarily Norwegian and German immigrants who established farmsteads in the valleys.
Based on historic maps, it appears that a road traveling through Section 34, parallel to Coon Creek, was established sometime during the 1860s or 70s. By 1890, the road had been rerouted and intersected Coon Creek at several locations within Sections 27, 33 and 34. During the early 1920s, the road, now officially County Highway G, was rerouted again so that it intersected Coon Creek at only one location within Section 34, at the approximate site of the subject bridge. Presumably, a bridge was constructed at this location as part of the rerouting.
Both Amond Ambrosen and Ingebret Settingsgard were awarded $400 from La Crosse County for land lost on their properties for the relocation of the highway. Based on historic newspapers, the bridge became known as the Ambrosian, likely due to its location on Amond Ambrosens land. In August 1935, the Ambrosian bridge was washed out due to heavy rain. Over the next four years, the Town of Washington, La Crosse County and Wisconsin State highway commissions explored options for repairing the bridge, relocating the highway or constructing a new bridge.
It was ultimately decided that a new steel structure would be built with the help of federal highway aid funds and the subject bridge was constructed in 1939. Grading and culvert work along County G was furnished by the Works Progress Administration, but no WPA work was used for the bridge construction.