Industrial History

Monday, October 12, 2026

Collapse of 6th Avenue Bridge over Des Moines River in Des Moines, IA

(no Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

I grew up in Iowa posted three images with the comment:

April 17, 1965, the day the Sixth Avenue bridge over the Des Moines River collapsed. Many pictures!
Des Moines, Iowa.
Recent discussions of the country’s failing infrastructure might lead some long-time Des Moines residents to remember April 17, 1965, the day the Sixth Avenue bridge over the Des Moines River collapsed. Shortly after 3 P.M. that Saturday, three cars were on the bridge when the middle section, about 100 feet long and over half the width of the bridge, fell into the river.
All three drivers were able to turn around and get off the bridge safely, but telephone service was disrupted when an estimated 10,000 telephone customers lost service. Four temporary pay phones were installed, two at Second and Euclid and two at Sixth and Hickman, until phone service could be restored. The bridge had been buffeted by flood waters for about two weeks, leading to speculation that this was the cause of the collapse.
The city had previously scheduled repair work on this bridge and several others and subsequently rebuilt the Sixth Avenue, University Avenue, and Walnut Street bridges as well as the Seventh Street Viaduct. All four bridges reopened on Friday, October 14, 1966, after many months of re-routing inconvenience for citizens.

Dori Jansma: And it was a dog that saved the day to run new telephone lines across the bridge to get emergency phone lines reconnected!!

[When I tried finding the "posted" link that I forgoet to record, I found 18 photos.]

Comments on the above post

Dori Jansma commented on the above post

Mike Andreski: Dori Jansma And later this month [Oct 2026] the successor to NW BELL is ending wired service.

Today's bridge:

Street View, Sep 2017

BNSF/Frisco Bridge over Canadian River near Francis, OK, Replacement

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

That bridge looks awfully spindly for modern railroad loads. In fact, it looks like it is pin connected.

Photo by Trevor Paulhus via BridgeHunter, License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike (CC BY-SA) (source)

I can't figure out how they are replacing the bridge one truss at a time because the new piers are beside the old bridge rather than in line with the existing route. At the end of this tandem lift, the cable from the red crane almost touches a cable on the blue crane.

Facebook Reel

At first, I thought the new piers are wide enough to be under the old bridge and to hold the new girder spans beside the old bridge. But looking at the above photo, I don't know how the piers can be under the old bridge because it is a deck truss. So I'm still confused.

Same Reel

Sep 2025: they started building the spans over a year before they were needed.

Veritas Steel LCC posted 10 photos with the comment:

Building partnerships and bridges – literally! We recently hosted BNSF and Kraemer North America for a shop tour in our Eau Claire facility to see our progress on their new bridge over the Canadian River near Francis, OK.
The project involves fabricating over 3.8 million pounds of weathering steel girders. The tour was a perfect opportunity for them to see the incredible work being done and to strengthen our long-standing partnerships that are essential to our collective success.
A huge thank you to all who joined us onsite! We are proud to be part of this vital infrastructure project.

May 14, 2026: transporting those spans is complicated. A lot of axles are needed to spread out the load on the road.

Western Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma Railroading posted two photos with the comment: "Today 2026-05-14, these two 1/2 spans for the Burlington Northern railroad bridge north of Francis, OK. Are sitting in Francis waiting the last couple of miles on their long trip from Wisconsin."

Talk about a low river, it is hard to find water in that river bed.

Satellite

Appleton Lock #1 on Fox River in Appleton, WI

(Satellite)

They had to raise the boom of the crane to clear the downstream gate. I didn't notice that until near the end of the video when we can see them lower the boom back down. I can tell this is upstream lock of the four locks in Appleton because of the building near the downstream gate and the spillway.

Facebook Reel

At first, I wondered why it was a big deal to see a barge in a lock. Then, when I learned Appleton was on the Fox River, I understood why this is a rare site. This waterway is normally used only by recreational boats.

FRNSA2015b via Dennis DeBruler

Sunday, October 11, 2026

Riley Dam and Powerhouse on St. Joseph River near Union City, MI

(Satellite)

It looks like the purpose of the radial gate is to drain the lake. That is, it is effectively an outlet control.

Steven Haskell, Aug 2023

Apr 2026:

wtvbam
Century old Riley Dam in need of $3.6 million in repairs
"While the facility was remarkably spared from a devastating EF-3 tornado that struck the region in March 2026, the underlying structural deficiencies have forced the village to suspend the use of dam gates until critical stabilization can occur...Village Manager Chris Mathis, who has previously overseen emergency measures such as using landscape fabric to seal leaking gates, is now navigating the challenge of funding these massive upgrades alongside ongoing tornado recovery costs. This local crisis mirrors a broader dam safety struggle across Michigan, where officials estimate over $1 billion is needed to address aging infrastructure."

Facebook Reel

I was not able to find the megawatt capacity of the generators. The square hole in the lower-right corner is where Chris used a ladder to go down below.

Same Reel

Saturday, October 10, 2026

1854 Mary's River Covered Bridge over Little Marys River northeast of Chester, IL

(Bridge Hunter; Satellite)

Street View, Apr 2018

Margie Troyer, Oct 2022

Mission Timber posted 11 photos with the comment: "Mary's River Covered Bridge, the only bridge of its kind left in Southern Illinois. The covered bridge was built in 1854 by Wilhelm Misselhorn from Germany. It was in continuous service from 1854 to 1930 and renovated by the State in 2005. It has a 90-foot span and constructed as part of a toll road between Bremen and Chester, IL. In 2023 a storm severely damaged the bridge, taking most of the roof off. But it has since been repaired. - Shane."

Tommy Burgdorf shared