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| 1910 Postcard via Bridge Hunter |
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| Street View |
A close up of the "cantilevered" lattice span holding a girder span.
I was surprised to see that cars in this area have to use a ferry. I wonder how frequently it runs.
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| Street View |
A view of the lattice spans with the swing pier highlighted with a red line. There is a swing span because the Wisconsin River used to be part of the Wisconsin Waterway that went from Green Bay to Prairie du Chien. Taller boats today are expected to go under a steel girder span.
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| Street View |
WSOR Wisconsin River Bridge (Merrimac)
The predecessor was built in 1878 by Leighton Bridge & Iron Works, who completed two other known projects for the C&NW in 1880 (High Bridge in Eau Claire, WI and Redstone Bridge in New Ulm, Minnesota). This bridge featured a lattice deck truss design with a through truss main span. It did not have a swing bridge, although it had a long main span.
CNW Bridge 334 Wisconsin River bridge at Merrimac
http://bridgehunter.com/category/waterway/wisconsin-river/
http://bridgehunter.com/category/waterway/fox-river-to-green...
The Federal Government took over the Green Bay and Mississippi Canal Company in 1870 and ran the entire system until it abandoned the Wisconsin River and Upper Fox River portion in 1951. The Lower Fox River section continued to be operated by the Army Corps of Engineers until the 1980's.
http://bridgehunter.com/category/waterway/fox-river-to-green...
The Federal Government took over the Green Bay and Mississippi Canal Company in 1870 and ran the entire system until it abandoned the Wisconsin River and Upper Fox River portion in 1951. The Lower Fox River section continued to be operated by the Army Corps of Engineers until the 1980's.
WSOR - Wisconsin River Bridge (Merrimac)
The bridge was originally built with a swing span to allow steamboats to go through. I have seen a picture of the span open with a boat moving through. My guess is it was not used often as the Wisconsin River was not very navigable due to shallow depths and shifting sand bars. The bridge has been rebuilt several times. The bridge was originally higher but the water level rose with the building of the dam at Prairie du Sac. The bridge was built for one track but when the line between Madison and Baraboo was doubled tracked, the bridge hosted a gauntlet track. This type of track was built on the bridge but never connected with the original track. The two tracks ran parallel to each other on the bridge but were not connected by switches. Train traffic on the bridge was controlled by two-story control towers at each end. I've seen pictures of those also.
[Bridge Hunter]
[Bridge Hunter]
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| Ross Stone commented on a post WSOR Reedsburg Rocket crossing Lake Wisconsin on the century old C&NW bridge near Okee, WI Oct 2017 |
A closeup of the movable span that was captured from the ferry.
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| Photo by J.R. Manning via Bridge Hunter At one time, the Wisconsin River was navigable, requiring a movable span. The span has not been operational in decades. |
John Marvig caught the movable span from the other side and a closeup of the pivot pier. Another view of the pivot pier.
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| Google Map Photo |
I was surprised to see that cars in this area have to use a ferry. I wonder how frequently it runs.
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| Mark Llanuza posted CNW crossing the Wisconsin River 1989 [According to the comments on the posting, Wisconsin & Southern trains still run on it, but at a "very slow speed." It needs a $7.6 million upgrade.] |
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| Brian Allen posted |
2020s: The Bridge is Rehabilitated
Bruce Schwierske posted two photos with the comment: "Work continues on the old C&NW bridge across Lake Wisconsin at Merrimac. Today, they were to replace a second section of the bridge. Here's a couple photos of the removal of the old span. 7/26/2023"
Rick King: The plan is to change a span every Wednesday. Once WSOR L467 EB clears the bridge about 2200 hrs. the track warrant is turned over to the bridge crew until 1800 on Thursday when they need to be clear for L467 WB.
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Ross Stone posted five photos with the comment: "New bridge span installed on the former CNW bridge crossing Lake WI. The old span was on the shore and had a plate bolted to it reading “Built By The Lassig Bridge And Iron Works Chicago, ILL 1895” Finally being retired after more than 125 years handling trains of every era and multiple owners."
Colin Schaffnit: How many of the spans are getting replaced? Looks like another new one waiting behind the old one?
Ross Stone: 13 spans in total https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/multimodal/merrimac.aspx
"The Merrimac Bridge will be able to accommodate 286,000 pound railcars at 25 miles per hour (mph)."
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