Years constructed: 1903
Alternate name: Willow Creek Bridge
Bridge type: Concrete Filled Spandrel Arch
National Register of Historic Places status: Listed
Length: 62 feet
Width: 37.1 feet
Spans: 1
FHWA: 007990
Jurisdiction: City of Mason City
Location: East State Street over Willow Creek in Mason City, Section 3, T96N-R20W (Mason Township).
Details
Located on East State Street, this medium-span concrete arch spans Willow Creek in a residential district east of downtown Mason City. This is a historically significant crossing; an 1875 plan of Mason City appears to show a bridge at this site. State Street, which edged the Public Square and College Square downtown to the west, was the only major route into the city from the east at that time, although it stood beyond the boundary of the original town. It is uncertain what bridge, or bridges, served this crossing in the 19th century. On January 15, 1903, the Cerro Gordo Board of Supervisors appointed a committee to procure plans and specifications for a concrete arch bridge on East State Street. The contract to build the bridge was awarded to N.M. Stark of Des Moines in June. Stark erected a number of bridges in Cerro Gordo County in the early 20th century, including another concrete arch in Mason City, the Stewart Avenue Bridge, built in 1914. The concrete arch style was popular in Cerro Gordo County during this period, and can be seen on the Rock Falls Bridge or Spring Street Bridge in Rock Falls. The State Street Bridge has a barrel arch with filled spandrel. This structure continues to carry traffic with the replacement of the guardrails the only major alteration of note. The State Street Bridge is the oldest remaining roadway arch in Cerro Gordo County, and, indeed, it is one of the oldest such arches in Iowa, exceeded in age only by the Melan Arch in Lyon County and by a few railroad grade separations. For this reason the bridge is technologically significant as a very early example of its type, constructed by Iowa's most prolific arch builder, N.M. Stark [adapted from Hybben, Roise and Fraser 1992].