We are picking up on the series about the Great Flood of 2024 and are now going to shift to one city that has taken the hardest hit by the floodwaters. Spencer, Iowa is located over the Little Sioux River at the junction of US Hwys. 71 and 18. It’s located between the Iowa Great Lakes Region and Storm Lake. With a population of 11,300 inhabitants, the city feeds off its economic growth from tourism and industry. It also has a community college, a historic city center with buildings dating as far back as the early 1900s and a shopping mall on the south end of the city. The city has eight bridges spanning the river directly, yet the county seat has dozens of bridges spanning both the Little Sioux and Ocheydan Rivers, which merge NW of the city. At one point Spencer had ten bridges, but two were removed before 1990. As far as historic bridges are concerned. Spencer is the only known community in the United States that has two Pennsylvania through truss bridges, both spanning the Little Sioux and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. We will focus on that in our tour guide. We will also look at a pair of railroad bridges that went through the city; one of them still exists today. And finally we have a couple bonus historic bridges located outside the city, whose history should not be ignored.
Each bridge is accompanied with a map to give you an idea of where it is located. So without further ado, here we go as we look at Spencer’s finest bridges:
- Old Rusty Bridge at 210th Avenue
-Location: Little Sioux River at 18th Avenue West, north of Spencer
-Bridge Type: Pennsylvania through truss with A-frame portal bracings
-Dimensions: 180 feet long, 18 feet wide
– Built in 1901 by the Clinton Bridge and Iron Works Co. of Clinton, Iowa.
Info:
Old Rusty has been nicknamed here due to the rust coloring on the truss bridge itself, yet it also goes by the name of Dump Road Bridge for it is located near the former landfill. The bridge was originally built in 1901 at the site where Grand Avenue Bridge was built. A summary of that story can be found here. It was relocated to this site in 1915 and continued to serve traffic until its closure in 2018. The bridge has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1998. Currently there are no plans for the bridge and the structure remains intact and in a place out of the way from the main highway and city limits, however because of its historic significance, some consideration may be needed to either convert the bridge and surrounding area into a natural site or relocate it to be reused as a bike trail crossing or monument.
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- Grand Avenue Bridge
-Location: Little Sioux River at Grand Avenue (US Hwys. 71 & 18) in downtown Spencer
-Bridge type: Five-span closed spandrel concrete arch bridge (old); four span concrete girder bridge with spirals on each corner of the span (present-day)
-Dimension (present-day): Approximately 500 feet long, 75 feet wide.
-Built: 1915 (old); replaced in 2006
Info:
Thor Construction of Cedar Falls was contracted by the city to build the arch bridge in 1915 when the truss spans were relocated elsewhere (see story of Old Rusty). Although it specialized in constructing concrete bridges, it was responsible for the relocation of the truss spans. The concrete bridge at Grand Avenue had a length of 422 feet with each span having a length of 72 feet. The bridge was 62 feet wide. It started carrying US Hwys. 71 and 18 when they were created in 1926; the former a north-south route, the latter an east-west route. Expansion in the southern part of the city combined with the increase in traffic led to the arch bridge’s replacement in 2006. At the request of many locals who wanted to pay homage to the historic structure, four spirals made of concrete were constructed at each corner, and additional fancy street lighting were added. The bridge is a popular attraction for pedestrians and cyclists as it also crosses the bike trail going along the river as well as adjacent Leach Park.
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- Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway (MSLR) Bridge
-Location: Little Sioux River at Leach Park East and Park Street in Spencer
-Bridge type: Pratt through truss bridge with A-frame portals; wooden trestle spans on both ends.
-Built: 1899; Removed in 1936
Info:
Spencer once had two railroads that went through the community. The MSLR was one of them as it once provided service and commerce between Minneapolis and St. Louis. This structure was built as part of the main line connecting the Iowa Lakes Region to the N and Storm Lake to the S. Yet two factors led to the demise of that line: One was a freak accident in Arnolds Park in 1933, when a train crashed into a car, killing five people. This lead to liability issues bring brought up to the railroad company. The other was the plan to break up MSLR due to financial difficulties which was averted when Lucian Sprague took over operations in 1934 and began to streamline operations to make the rail line profitable again. The line was one of the casualities as it was abandoned in 1936 and the bridge was dismantled that same year. Today, only the concrete pier on the southern side of the river exists, as a monument to show the line’s existence as well as the bridge. Much of the line has since been converted into a bike trail conecting Spirit Lake to areas south of Milford.
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- Woodcliff Bridge
-Location: Little Sioux River at 240th Avenue (Hwy. M50), east of Spencer
-Bridge Type: Pin-connected Pratt through truss bridge with Howe lattice portals and curved heel bracings
-Built: ca. 1910 in Peterson, moved to this location in 1926; replaced in 1991
Info:
More information is needed regarding this truss bridge which has been extant for over 30 years. The structure was supposedly blown down by winds in 1926 which resulted in the contract being let to Noel Construction of Spencer to relocate the truss bridge to the crossing east of Spencer. It is unknown why nor was there any information on its predecessor at that time. Noel was an active player in relocating truss bridges if they were in the way of replacement during the 1920s to 40s and was a family business for over 50 years until it folded in 1973. Like the current structure, the truss bridge survived many floods including the Great Flood of 1954, which had been the worst prior to the events that happened in June 2024. The bridge’s demise may have happened after an accident in July 1986, when a car crashed into one of the end posts, causing the bridge to slump one foot. Although it was repaired and reopened a month later, work was already underway for its eventual replacement, which occurred in 1990-91. When the bridge was replaced, the truss bridge was moved off alignment onto temporary piers and the roadway was rerouted out of the way to allow for construction of the concrete bridge to happen. The county wanted a straight-line approach for the bridge. Once the structure was completed in the fall 1991, the truss bridge was dismantled. The current structure was flooded over heavily during the Great Flood of 2024 but survived intact. It’s located just north of US Hwy. 18 and east of Oneota and DeWolf Parks.
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- Spencer Railroad Bridge
-Location: Little Sioux River on the Canadian Pacific Railroad Line near Gravel Pit Park west of Spencer
-Bridge type: Pin-connected Pratt pony truss bridge with steel girder approach spans
-Dimensions: 205 feet long (total), 105 feet (truss span); one track width.
-Built: 1901 by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Works Company, currently in use.
Info:
As mentioned in the article on the MSLR Railroad Bridge, Spencer once had two railroads going through town, each one crossing the Little Sioux River. This one is still in use as it is owned by Canadian Pacific Railroad. John Marvig did a write-up on the history of the rail line and the bridge itself, which you can find in his website here. It was originally part of the line that started at McGregor and went through Iowa, stopping at Mason City, Sheldon and Spencer, but underwent several ownership changes until 2008.
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- Thunder Bridge
-Location: Little Sioux River at Thunder Bridge Rd. at junction with W. 4th Street in Spencer
-Bridge type: Pennsylvania through truss with A-frame portal bracings
-Dimensions: 185 feet long, 18 feet wide
-Built: 1905 by the Clinton Bridge and Iron Works Company of Clinton, IA
Info:
While Thunder Bridge is one of two Pennsylvania through truss bridges in Spencer, it is one of the two that has a much higher chance to sticking around for a long time. The bridge is located on a road that starts and ends at the same street, namely W. 4th Street. Furthermore, it has been well-maintained and well-visited by many people near and far. Then there is the historic significance status it has had since 1998 and its approximate location to the boat ramp and fishing area to keep in mind. Even if the bridge was to close someday, it would still have a life as a pedestrian and bike bridge namely because of its location and popularity among the locals in the area.
As a bonus, the bridge is located near the 4th Street Bridge. It was once a two-span pony truss bridge before it was replaced in 1980. It was also the site of a suicide in 1984, when a driver slammed is car into the concrete railings converting the vehicle into a rolling fireball. What led to this tragedy remains unsolved to this date.
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BONUS: High Bridge Recreational Area
As a bonus, I would like to introduce you to two bridges located only a half a mile from each other. Both are over a century old and located in a wildlife area. Both of them have potential to becoming recreational crossings if money and interest are there.
The first is the Webb Viaduct. The bridge features wooden trestle approach spans, accompanied with a Howe deck truss span over the Little Sioux River. It was built in 1900 but it is unknown by whom. It had been part of the Rock Island Railroad until its liquidation in 1976. Afterwards it underwent several ownership changes, with the Union Pacific eventually taking over in 1991 and abandoning the line and bridge by 1999. John Marvig has the story behind the bridge, which you can read here.
The Teilbur Bridge is a combination wooden beam and Pratt through truss bridge with A-frame portal and Town lattice strut bracings. It was built by the Clinton Bridge and Iron Works Company in 1907 and has taken quite a bit of abuse even though the road it carries, 240th Avenue, is sparsely used. The south approach span collapsed in 1992 by an overweight truck. It was rebuilt and reopened by 1994. In 2011, a wreckless driver crashed into the NE endpost, causing the truss portal to sag. It was revealed that she had been under the influence of alcohol and lost her license for a certain time. The bridge was rebuilt, partially with insurance funds, and reopened in 2013.
Both bridges are part of the High Bridge Wildlife Area which makes them potential candidates of being restored as recreational crossings. Both are located where 470th Street and 240th Avenue meet.
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This sums up our tour of the bridges in Spencer and the surrounding area. A lot of research was based on my visits in 1998 and 2011 but we also got some help from those who have contributed either through bridgehunter.com (before it went offline) or through their own websites, like with John Marvig’s. The historic bridges that are still standing have a bright future if they are part of the plans by those who wish to see them become part of the city’s heritage. Even as Spencer was devastated by the Great Flood of 2024, the community came together to become stronger than before. And even if some of the houses affected by the floods will face demolition, it is hoped that there is a chance to rebuild to bring together what Spencer offers in terms of its history and present time to the future that Spencer holds. May the bridges the city offer be part of the plans because after all:
Your bridges matter, just as much as the community itself.
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You can check out my write-up on Spencer and the Great Flood by clicking on the window below:
The Great Flood of 2024- Spencer,Iowa
There are several links to pages where you can help with your donations and services….
