Upper Paris Bridge

• Year constructed: 1879
• Alternate name: Wapsipinicon River Bridge
• Bridge type: Pin-Connected Whipple Through Truss
• National Register of Historic Places status: Listed
• Length: 208 feet
• Width: 15.1 feet
• Spans: 3 (1 truss span, 2 timber approach spans)
• FHWA: 223020
• Jurisdiction: Linn County (Contact Garret Reddish, 319-892-6407)
• Location: Sutton Road over the Wapsipinicon River, 3.8 miles southwest of Coggon, Section 19, T86N-R6W (Jackson Township)

Details

This unusual Whipple truss spans the Wapsipinicon River in northern Linn County. It was built in 1879 by the Ohio-based Canton Wrought Iron Bridge Company for $3400.00. The timber and stone substructure was constructed by Cloyston and Wood for $1564.72. The bridge is a fairly rare example of a double-intersection Pratt truss, also known as a "Whipple" truss, which was first developed by Squire Whipple, an early American engineer, in 1847. Additional construction documentation for this long-span truss does not exist in county records.  Barring a minor replacement, the aesthetically striking Upper Paris Bridge carries intermittent vehicular traffic in its rural setting. The Upper Paris Bridge is distinguished as a well-preserved, large-scale example of a Whipple truss. Basically, a Pratt with diagonals that extend over two panels, the Whipple truss was seldom employed for wagon trusses in the state. Few were ever erected and fewer yet remain today. This structure is one of only eight pin-connected Whipple through trusses remaining in Iowa and is the longest of the eight (in 1991). For its exceeding rare use of wrought iron components, its rare truss configuration, and its overall length, the Upper Paris Bridge is a structurally significant wagon crossing in Iowa.