Searching for Old Bridges in Central Illinois

[rhino_adv]

alekkas,
I dont mind at all. Its really out of my area anyway. Beautifull bridge!! Thanks for shareing with us.

brad

[rhino_adv]

This a follow up the the first post in this thread. It was raining hard when JUNIOR650 and I arrived at this bridge (B1) on May 22nd of this year and I did not take photographs. Today my youngest daughter and I went back to capture some images to share. This is a Pratt through truss bridge (closed to all traffic in 2007) over the Mackinaw River in Tazewell county. Total length: 253.8 ft. with vertical clearance above deck: 18.1 ft. The deck is made of concrete and still in good shape. This bridge can be crossed on two wheels by going around the baracades.

location:N40°26'21" , W89°34'28"

Saw this old barn covered in Ivey......


Getting close.........








Looking to the west......


Most of the deck was covered in graffiti........


Here is a video clip I took last fall crossing the bridge on my XT600.......

[rhino_adv]

Originally Posted by kimzx1000r

Awesome thread. I was planning on doing a trip through the state next spring and if you get a route together I will surely ride it! Thanks for doing this.

kimzx1000r,
I plan on putting together a route of the bridges. After looking at the placement of the bridges (in google earth) I have photographed and some I have yet to photograph, the route is starting to look like a spiral. I am very familiar with the gravel and twistie black top roads in Logan, Tazwell, Mason and Mclean counties and will include as much as possible. It will likely be next year before this is completed though (winter project).

[stinkyrider]

you didn't burn any of those on your way back did you ?!?

[bwbeck]

Great thread keep um coming.

[rhino_adv]

Here are the photos and information on the rest of the bridges I photographed this past Friday. First up is a Camelback Pratt through truss bridge over Sangamon River on TR 192, 5 mi. north of Mt Auburn. The bridge connects Sangamon and Christian counties in central Illinois. The bridge is 169.9 ft in length and 15.1 ft in width. This bridge was closed to all motor traffic in 2006 and is in very poor condition. The wooden deck is covered in follage with trees growing up around it, in fact I walked past the bridge while looking for it as it is very well camoflaged.

Location:N39°49'16" , W89°15'08"







Next up is a two-span through truss bridge over Sangamon River on TR 171, 2.0 mi. east of Clear Lake in Sangamon county. This bridge was built in 1950 and is still open to traffic, with a total length: 287.0 ft., deck width: 20.3 ft. and vertical clearance above deck: 14.7 ft.

Location:N39°49'24" , W89°32'39"









Off to the next bridge and I see this interesting round barn......


Next up is the through truss bridge over Brush Creek on TR 355, 3.5 mi. north of Pawnee. This bridge was build in 1956 with a Total length: 103.0 ft, Deck width: 20.3 ft. and vertical clearance above the concrete deck: 15.5 ft. The bridge is open to traffic.

Location: N39°38'56" , W89°36'09"











The last bridge I photographed on Friday was the Lick Creek Bridge, a pony truss bridge over Lick Creek on TR 176 near Springfield in Sangamon county. The bridge has a total length: 94.1 ft and a deck width: 12.4 ft. The bridge was closed to traffic in Summer 2010. It is possible to get around the baracades and cross the bridge (I did myself).

Location: N39°42'33" , W89°44'14"
















Brad

[kimzx1000r]

Originally Posted by Rhino081460

kimzx1000r,
I plan on putting together a route of the bridges. After looking at the placement of the bridges (in google earth) I have photographed and some I have yet to photograph, the route is starting to look like a spiral. I am very familiar with the gravel and twistie black top roads in Logan, Tazwell, Mason and Mclean counties and will include as much as possible. It will likely be next year before this is completed though (winter project).

Awesome, I look forward to seeing these. I made a route through Iowa this year and it had many old bridges. I will be working on a route from Northern Il. to Southern Il. for us to do in the spring. We want to get down to the Shawnee and back and if all goes well we will incorporate your route or at least some of it. I want to see your bridges they are awesome. Thanks for working on this one, great pics.

[rhino_adv]

Originally Posted by kimzx1000r

Awesome, I look forward to seeing these. I made a route through Iowa this year and it had many old bridges. I will be working on a route from Northern Il. to Southern Il. for us to do in the spring. We want to get down to the Shawnee and back and if all goes well we will incorporate your route or at least some of it. I want to see your bridges they are awesome. Thanks for working on this one, great pics.

kimzx1000r;

I think the best possible route/track of the southern 1/3 of the state has already been mapped out by BigDog. It starts at the Moonshine General Store (home of the moonburger) in Moonshine, Illinois and goes south and then west through the Shawnee National Forrest and ends up at the "Bottoms Up Bar and Grill" in Nunert, Illinois (just North of Grand Tower). BigDog has added many POIs to the route/track. If your interested here is the file: Moonshine.gpx

Also. If you would like, Id be happy to give you a guided tour of some of the bridges near me when you get down this way. Just give me a few days notice.

Brad

[kimzx1000r]

Brad that would be awesome, local tour guides are the best. I will keep you posted. I downloaded bigdogs route. I also have the river to river route. All this should help me. We live in northern Illinois. We try and to a trip every spring and plan a week of camping and riding. Who knows maybe we will do a fall long weekend in your area. Thanks for the replies.

Kim

[rhino_adv]

Today I met up with inmates, tripleplay and JUNIOR650 with plans to photograph a couple old iron bridges in Champaign county. The GPS told us to head east on US-136 and then turn south a few miles beyond Heyworth and then back east. We traveled some twisty black top, gravel and even a long streach of grass field road (gps said township road). We came across this sign at the bottom of a small valley right next to a creek.



We contuined east towards the first bridge. The Hazen Bridge, also known as the Newcomb Bridge, is a steel bridge spanning the Sangamon River north of Mahomet in Champaign County, Illinois. It was constructed at a location known as White's ford, a popular crossing location of that era because of its proximity to Mahomet and Shiloh Church. The bridge was built in 1893 by Seevers Manufacturing Company of Oskaloosa, Iowa for the bid of $4,985. The name is derived from the Hazen family which owned property adjacent to the crossing. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 as structure #94000433. The Hazen Bridge is a Pratt Through Truss desgin with timber flooring, with a length of 288 feet and a height above the deck of 14 feet. The bridge was bypassed in 1993 when a new concrete bridge was built just south of its location.

Location: N40°15'10", W88°23'01"

[rhino_adv]

We next headed into Mahoment towards the "Old East Street Bridge". This ia a Pratt through truss bridge, built by the Decatur Bridge Company in 1912 over the Sangamon River on a pedestrian/bike trail (former East Street) in Mahomet. This is a well maintained bridge with nice timber decking and side rails to keep foot and bike traffic from falling.

Location:N40°11'32", W88°23'54"

[rhino_adv]

We road part of a D/S route out east of Savoy for a while, and about 4pm decided to head back home. On the way back we went through Piatt county and my GPS alerted me of a bridge I had entered cooridinites for, but not yet been to. So, a little detour and we photographed another bridge. This is a two-span through truss bridge over the Sangamon River on TR 51. The bridge is located just north of White Heath on a gravel road. It has a total length: 203.0 ft, deck width: 15.7 ft and vertical clearance above the concrete deck: 12.9 ft.

Location:N40°07'16", W88°29'52"

[JAKE BRAKE]

Hey it was a great day Saturday ..It was really good riding with you and JUNIOR650.....Thanks for the invite RHINO081460.........Look forward to the next search........

[rhino_adv]

Here are a few photos of a small wooden deck bridge over a creek in Dewitt county, south and west of Heyworth.

location: N40 15' 50.1" W89 01' 47.2"










A few miles east of this bridge you can see this:

It appears to be a 1955 Ford Customline Tudor that has been embedded into the roof of an old barn along the side of the road.

Location: N40 15.046 W88 57.469




Brad

[Suruppak]

This is a great thread! I didn't realize other people on here liked old bridges too! Here is a site that I've been using to find them: http://bridgehunter.com

I grew up in southern Shelby county and now live in Moultrie county. Once I get my bike fixed (R80ST - flywheel broke last week ) I would love to go bridge hunting with anyone willing.

-Jeremy