Fruitport Road-Pettys Bayou Bridge
About this property
The Fruitport Road–Pettys Bayou Bridge, also known as the Bowen Bridge, is a multiple span bridge carrying Fruitport Road over Petty's Bayou (a portion of Spring Lake) in Spring Lake Township, Michigan. The Ottawa County Road Commission undertook a county-wide road and bridge improvement project, starting in the 1910s. In 1921, the commission hired Carl Bowen, a former civil engineer at the Michigan State Highway Department. Bowen supervised the construction of numerous projects during his 30+ year tenure with the commission, including the construction of this bridge in 1948. The design of the bridge was completed by the Michigan State Highway Department in 1947, and L.W. Lamb of Holland was contracted to construct the bridge. Construction started in February 1948, and the bridge was opened to traffic in December. The bridge was dedicated to Carl Bowen at the request of the local Chamber of Commerce. It has continued to carry traffic since its construction. The superstructure was reconstructed, and the bridge repaved, in 2008. The Fruitport Road–Pettys Bayou Bridge is a multiple-span concrete-and-steel bridge, consisting of nine spans stretching 418 feet. Five spans are 55 feet in length, two are 53 feet, and two are 18 feet. Each span contains eight lines of rolled I-beams, braced laterally. The foundations of the bridge are unusually deep, due to the marshy soil below and the substructure units are of a lightweight cellular construction to reduce the load on the soil, and spread it out over a large area. The superstructure is of standard Michigan State Highway Department design, with corbeled steps on the bulkheads and concrete piers, ornamental steel guardrails, and a concrete deck.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Fruitport Road-Pettys Bayou Bridge
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Questions about this property
When was Fruitport Road-Pettys Bayou Bridge listed on the National Register?
Fruitport Road-Pettys Bayou Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 17, 1999.
What type of historic resource is Fruitport Road-Pettys Bayou Bridge?
Fruitport Road-Pettys Bayou Bridge is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Fruitport Road-Pettys Bayou Bridge?
The period of significance for Fruitport Road-Pettys Bayou Bridge is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Fruitport Road-Pettys Bayou Bridge?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Fruitport Road-Pettys Bayou Bridge will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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