Property Record
OWEN AVE / ROCK CREEK RD OVER ROCK CREEK
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Owen Avenue Bridge |
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| Other Name: | Bridge P-10-0903 |
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| Reference Number: | 233127 |
| Location (Address): | OWEN AVE / ROCK CREEK RD OVER ROCK CREEK |
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| County: | Clark |
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| Township/Village: | Beaver |
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| Year Built: | 1940 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2016 |
| Historic Use: | overhead truss bridge |
| Architectural Style: | NA (unknown or not a building) |
| Structural System: | Warren Truss |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| 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. The Owen Avenue Bridge is a single-span, steel, riveted Warren through truss with verticals, concrete abutments, and a timber deck with bituminous surfacing. The bridge is approximately 140 feet in length and the deck measures 20 feet wide with narrow wooden curbs on either side. It has a relatively low clearance of 12 feet, 6 inches. The top chord is built up from two channel sections with a cover plate above and V-lacing below. The bottom chord consists of two channel sections riveted together with paired batten plates. The primary diagonals and verticals are single I-beam sections. The bridge rests on concrete abutments with wingwalls and has typical rocker bearings. The bridge was redecked in 2007, and in 2012 several I-beam stringers and floorbeams were replaced on the northwest side of the substructure to provide additional reinforcement underneath the crossing. 2016- "The Owen Avenue Bridge, built c.1940 and moved to its current location in 1956, carries Owen Avenue/Rock Creek Road over Rock Creek in the town of Beaver, Clark County, roughly 1.5 miles east of the city of Greenwood. Owen Avenue is a minor north-south road in Clark County and Rock Creek Road is a minor east-west thoroughfare through Greenwood. The regional economy is largely agricultural and the roads and bridge are mostly used by farmers. The structure has a load posting of 40 tons and supports two-way traffic, but only one vehicle can pass over the bridge at a time. The Owen Avenue Bridge is a single-span, steel, riveted, Warren through truss with verticals, concrete abutments, and a timber deck with bituminous surfacing. The bridge is approximately 140 feet in length and the deck measures 20 feet wide with narrow wooden curbs on either side. It has a relatively low clearance of 12 feet, 6 inches. The top chord is built up from two channel sections with a cover plate above and V-lacing below. The bottom chord consists of two channel sections riveted together with paired batten plates. The primary diagonals and verticals are single 1-beam sections. Top struts and lateral bracing also consist of I-beam sections connected at gusset plates and batten plates. The bridge features inclined endposts. Portal bracing is made of paired channel sections with X-lacing, which are visibly warped on both ends of the crossing. Rolled I-beam stringers support the timber deck and rest on rolled I-beam floorbeams riveted to the bottom chord at gusset plates and batten plates. Bottom lateral bracing consists of angle sections riveted to the bottom chord at batten plates. The bridge rests on concrete abutments with wingwalls and has typical rocker bearings. Owen Avenue extending from either side of the timber and asphalt bridge deck is a dirt road. Railings on either side of the bridge deck consist of two angle sections with lattice lacing riveted to vertical angle sections that are then welded to major steel members. The bridge was redecked in 2007, and in 2012 severall-beam stringers and floorbeams were replaced on the northwest side of the substructure to provide additional reinforcement underneath the crossing. History The Owen Avenue Bridge was likely not the first bridge at its current location. Rock Creek was frequently forded by early area settlers, and records indicate that in 1895 a steel bridge was constructed across the waterway on the Loyal town line road, which is th-e approximate location of the current-day Owen Avenue Bridge. This would have provided a crossing at the general site of the subject bridge through the early twentieth century. The Owen Avenue Bridge was constructed c.1940, which was during the Great Depression when the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) were active in Clark County. Among other types of projects, both agencies funded bridge work in the area. Nevertheless, sources consulted, including WPA project cards at the Wisconsin Historical Society and newspaper articles from the Clark County Press on local WPA and CCC work, did not reveal that the Owen Avenue Bridge was a federally funded New Deal project. Research was also unable to uncover the definitive original location of the bridge. The most likely explanation is that the bridge was first located on S. Main Street UState Trunk Highway (STH) 73 over Rock Creek in Greenwood, approximately 3 miles west of its current location. Some local residents recall that the structure was originally situated there. Additionally, the modern highway bridge (B-1 0-013) that now stands at that location was designed in 1956 and completed in 1957, aligning with the date that the Owen Avenue Bridge was relocated. Town of Beaver records from April 1956 confirm that the Owen Avenue Bridge was erected on its current site that year. The Towns of Eaton, Loyal, and Beaver together paid half the cost of construction, while the Clark County paid the other half. Engineering The Warren truss was patented by British engineers in 1848. Its distinctive design features diagonals arranged in triangular patterns that support both tensile and compressive forces. The Owen Avenue Bridge displays the basic Warren truss design and appropriate construction techniques, such as use of built-up members for the top and bottom chords and endposts, and heavy steel members for the diagonals. It also features standard, character-defining elements including parallel top and bottom chords, diagonals, inclined endposts, floorbeams, stringers, and, because it is a through truss, struts and portal bracing. Nationally, Warren trusses built after the first two decades of the twentieth century are considered to be "substantially less significant" than earlier examples. They enjoyed widespread use by state highway departments and railroad companies beginning in the 1920s and 1930s, and are relatively common. In Wisconsin a large majority of through truss bridges constructed after 1936 were standardized Warren designs. That year the Wisconsin State Highway Commission (SHC) updated its standard plans, replacing Pratt and Parker trusses with Warren designs. These changes were part of a statewide trend toward bridges with more streamlined aesthetics and clean, uncluttered lines. Though original plans for the Owen Avenue Bridge were not identified, it is very likely that the truss was designed from an SHC standard plan. After World War II trusses declined in popularity as concrete and steel girder bridges rose to prominence. Even so, many Warren trusses remained in use through the duration of the twentieth century; a 1983 survey identified almost 500 extant examples across the state." -"Owen Avenue Bridge (P-10-0903)", [Town: T27N, Range: R01W, Section: 31], Prepared by Mead & Hunt, Inc., (2016). Town of Beaver records from April 1956 confirm that the Owen Avenue Bridge was erected on its current site that year. The Towns of Eaton, Loyal, and Beaver together paid half the cost of construction, while the county paid the other half. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Gardner, Jay M. “Inspection Report for P-10-903.” Prepared for the State of Wisconsin Department of Transportation, September 15, 2014. “P-10-903 Owen Ave over Rock Creek.” Wisconsin Department of Transportation - Highway Structures Information System, https://trust.dot.state.wi.us/hsi/HSIController. “Proceedings of Town Meeting April 3, 1956.” Available at the Beaver Town Hall in Beaver, Wis. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |