(Archived Bridge Hunter, link didn't work;
Satellite, 1,139 photos)
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Bob Dover posted
A prominent feature of the Des Moines skyline on the north side of downtown is the high white arch of the sculptural Iowa Women of Achievement Bridge, also known as the Center Street Bridge. From the side, the bridge appears to be a normal cable-stayed bridge that crosses the entire river on a single, high, white steel arch, with crisscrossing suspender cables filling the middle of the arch. However, the structure is more complex than that. The bridge has a deck that splits into two separate pedestrian decks, one passing on each side of the arch. The cables connect diagonally to the inside of each deck, leaving the outside of each deck seemingly hanging off the side with no visible means of support. The white arch serves as a blank canvas to capture colored LED lighting, mostly in white and shades of blue. Des Moines is an unexpected place to find a variety of interesting bridges, historic and modern, traffic and pedestrian. I have posted photos of several of them onto www.bridgespotting.com. |
That design of the dam's spillway looks modern. (Update: A comment by sbergus indicates that an
article dates the dam to 1917. So I've learned that a zig-zag spillway is not a recent innovation. Although an extreme zig-zag like the new
Indian Lake Spillway may be more recent. The article explains that this dam is a
drowning machine that has taken over a dozen lives. It has a 15' (4.5m) head. Also, a whitewater organization wants the dam removed.)
Apparently the dam isn't modern at all, as it was built in 1917: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/local/des-moines/2016/04/23/imagine-dam-free-downtown-des-moines/83387710/
ReplyDeleteThanks for the research. I have updated my notes.
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