Year constructed: 1951
Bridge type: Steel Continuous Truss-thru
National Register of Historic Places status:
Eligible
Length: 1956 feet
Width: 23 feet
Spans: 5
FHWA: 036810
Jurisdiction: Iowa DOT and Nebraska Department of Roads
Location: Iowa 175 over the Missouri River into Nebraska, Section 18, T83N-R46W (Lincoln Township)
Details
Carrying IA 175 over the Missouri River into Nebraska, this five-span steel continuos truss bridge is 1956' long by 23' wide with an average span length of 421'. It is a toll bridge with a fee of 75 cents at present. The Burt County Nebraska Bridge Commission was formed around 1949 with the intent of constructing a bridge across the Missouri River between Decatur, Nebraska and Onawa, Iowa (Onawa Weekly Democrat 1949:1). Initially funded with $1.5 million in bonds, William J. Howard Company, Inc of Chicago received the winning bid for the bridges construction in January 1950 (Onawa Weekly Democrat 1950a:1). The bridge was designed by Kirkham, Michael & Associates of Omaha, Nebraska.
The ground breaking ceremony was on April 21, 1950 in Decatur, Nebraska. Onawa residents were transported to the festivities by boat across the Missouri River (Onawa Weekly Democrat 1950b:1). The bridge was constructed near the Decatur side of the Missouri River basin, several hundred yards west of the river channel. This was purposely done by the bridge engineers to reduce construction costs; it being easier to build the bridge on dry land (Onawa Weekly Democrat 1951a:1). However, by the time the bridge was almost halfway complete, financing for the rechannelization of the river had not been secured, being tied to the larger flood-control effort in the Missouri Basin. After being held up in appropriations for two years, some dredging work at the site of the brige began in January 1955 (Onawa Weekly Democrat 1955a:1); though a $600,000 contract for the diversion of the river under the bridge was not let by the Corps of Engineers until April 1955 (Onawa Weekly Democrat 1955b:1). Over the next eight months, work progressed on diversion of the river and completion of bridge approaches on both sides of the bridge. On December 12, 1955, both approaches were completed; cutting a one and a half hour trip to Decatur down to twenty minutes (Onawa Weekly Democrat 1955c:1). The bridge was officially opened to traffic and charging tolls for crossing in January 1956. The bridge was formally dedicated on May 6, 1956 as part of the Centennial Celebration of Decatur (Onawa Weekly Democrat 1956:1).
The Decatur Bridge is eligible for inclusion in the NRHP under Criterion C as it does meet registration requirements outlined in the MPD as a steel continuous thru truss bridge of an exceptional span length. The registration requirements include spans of over 400' in length as exceptional. With a main span of 421', this bridge does meet that requirement. The Decatur Bridge also meets registration requirements under Criterion A as a large bridge establishing a first highway corssing of a major waterway and as a major state bridge building initiative.
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