The Waterford Iron Bridge was constructed in 1909 by the Hennepin Bridge Company. The funding was provided by Dakota County and Waterford Township. Project management included an unusual twist in the funding and contracting process. In the past (early 1900's) the County would provide the funding to the townships FIRST, and then the township would schedule the project. This resulted in many projects not being completed, as the Townships or Cities would spend the funding on other things rather than undertaking or completing the funded project. To prevent this with the Waterford Bridge project, the Dakota County surveyor was selected to design the bridge and the County would choose the contractor, with the Township providing the funding in advance for the project.
The design developed by Charles Forbes was innovative for it's time, as it incorporated the "hot weld" method of bolts and a "through" truss design called "camel back". Testament to the design and construction techniques is the fact that the bridge was continuous use from 1909-2009 for vehicle traffic. It is one of the last standing of it's type, and to the best of our knowledge the only one still in use.
Now, and moving forward, with additional repair work the bridge will continue to serve the Township as a pedestrian bridge for many years to come. Floods have proven to be a challenge, repairs to one of the abutments were done in the early 1980's after being it was damaged by flood waters. Although, the 2010 flood waters reached the very bottom of the bridge, the bridge did not suffer damage. But the bridge does need help.
Bridge Future
Waterford Township has maintained this bridge for the past 100 years and will continue to do so. We will work toward providing a safe pedestrian bridge for hikers from the Carleton Arboretum or bicyclists from the local area
Bridge Contest
American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation have chosen 25 historic places in the Twin Cites area to participate in Partners in Preservation, a philanthropic program that encourages members of the community to vote on Facebook for the local historic places the communicty wants to see preservation funding used for.
We can support Waterford Township, beginning September 20th, 2011 and continuing through October 12, 2011 by going to Partners inPreservation on Facebook. At the Partners in Preservation site, there will a list of the 25 historic sites that are competing for the grants from American Express. Click on the “Waterford Iron Bridge” and your vote will be counted! You can vote once a day, every day till the 12th of October!. Have no fears about voting daily, this is not a poll, but about measuring the intensity of support, and nothing says” this is the one” more than your daily vote!
Once the voting concludes, the historic place with the most votes is guaranteed its full grant request, then the rest of the million dollars will be awarded by American Express, National Historic Trust for Preservation and local civic and community leaders will determine how the rest of the million dollars will be awarded.
For more information find us on Twitter at WaterfordBridg1, or contact Liz Messner 507.581.9067 lmessner@rconnect.com or Janalee Cooper 507.202.0702 janaleejcooper@gmail.com
