Year constructed: 1898
Alternate name: Raccoon River Bridge
Bridge type: Pin-Connected Pratt Through Truss
National Register of Historic Places status: Listed
Length: 401 feet
Width: 30 feet
Spans: 3
FHWA: 4041
Jurisdiction: City of Des Moines
Location: SW Fifth Street (Jackson Avenue) over Raccoon River in Des Moines, Section 8, T78N-R24W (Des Moines Township)
Details
Spanning the Raccoon River in the city of Des Moines, the 1898 Southwest Fifth Street Bridge features a timber deck and timber sidewalk cantilevered on the downstream side; the pinned Pratt through truss is supported by stone abutments and concrete-filled steel cylinder piers. In 1896, the Raccoon River Bridge generated both fervent debates and landmark decisions. At that point in Des Moines' history, the various rivers and streams on which the city was founded were formidable obstacles. Bridges and the funds to build them were scarce commodities; and property values were directly tied to the availability of reliable river crossings. Therefore, when the city council discovered an unappropriated $30,000, a spirited contest to see which area of town would secure the bridge was launched. The "East-Siders" wanted across the Des Moines River; "West-Siders" wanted to bridge the Raccoon River. Fortunately for the West-Siders, the East-Siders were splintered, each group clamoring for a span close to where they lived, and hence posed no threat to the concerted efforts of the West-Siders.
By July 1896 city council members were ready to advertise for competitive bridge construction proposals and eventually numerous sealed bids were received. A "combine" of bridge contractors had conspired to keep the bids high; but non-participant low-bidder J.H. Killmar was awarded the contract to erect the new Southwest Fifth Street Bridge for $19,000. A political struggle involving suits by the disappointed bid-rigging cartel delayed construction, but, using steel component rolled in Pittsburgh by Jones and Laughlin Steel Company, Kilmar finally completed the three-span through truss on June 17, 1898.
The Southwest Fifth Street Bridge ranks among Iowa's most significant vehicular spans. A well-preserved, 19th century example of pinned truss construction, the bridge is further distinguished as one of Iowa's few remaining pinned Pratt through trusses with three or more spans. The bridge's greatest significance, though, derives from the rarity of such structures in urban settings. As one of the only three pinned through trusses located in an urban setting, the Southwest Fifth Street Bridge is exceptionally important in its representation of early urban wagon bridge construction. The truss is equally important to the broad patterns of history in Des Moines and Polk County, because of its association with history of bridge construction practices and organized bridge "combines", and for its involvement in the intense competition between various geographical areas of Des Moines for transportation improvements during the prosperous years in the late 1800s [adapted from Crow-Dolby and Fraser 1993].