National Register of Historic Places

US 31-Pentwater River Bridge

Weare Township, Oceana County, Michigan
Listed
December 20, 1999
Type
Structure
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
99001534

About this property

The US 31–Pentwater River Bridge is a three-span steel bridge that carries Oceana Drive (Old US Highway 31) over the Pentwater River in northern Hart, Michigan. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Prior to the construction of the current span, US 31 spanned the river in Hart on a bridge that had become a significant bottleneck by the early 1950s. In 1954, a replacement structure was designed by the Michigan State Highway Department. The bridge was designated as a Federal Aid project and the contract for construction was awarded to Gene Fewell. The bridge was completed the next year for $266,564. Since construction, the bridge has been altered little and has undergone repairs only for maintenance reasons. In 1988, the bridge was rehabilitated by replacing the pins and hangers of the non-redundant suspended spans. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 20, 1999, and the Michigan Department of Transportation placed it on their list of historic bridges. The bridge has three spans and a total length of 270 feet (82 m). The two anchor spans are 84 feet (26 m) long and cantilever over the piers to support the 102-foot (31 m) center span, 60 feet (18 m) of which is suspended. The deck is 56 feet (17 m) wide and the total width of the bridge is 63.1 feet (19.2 m). The bridge is essentially two separate bridges, each with its own structure, separated by a 4-foot-wide (1.2 m) divider strip and connected by a 1 inch (2.5 cm) joint along the bridge's length. The bridge has two lanes in each direction and the sidewalks are 2.5 feet (0.76 m) wide. The steel girder design of the US 31–Pentwater River Bridge was widely used by State Highway Department in the 1930s and 1940s. The department used similar designs as early as 1905, but it was not until about 1930 that steel manufacturing techniques could produce a span greater than 45 feet (14 m). List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan National Register of Historic Places listings in Oceana County, Michigan

Location

Weare Township, Oceana County, Michigan
43.74144, -86.38958

Categories

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Sources

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.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Navigation Structures at Pentwater Harbor
Industrial
3.8 mi
Gay, Jared H., House
Industrial
7.9 mi
Mears, Charles, Silver Lake Boardinghouse
Industrial
9.5 mi
Little Sable Point Light Station
Industrial
9.7 mi
Ludington United States Coast Guard Station
Industrial
14.4 mi

Questions about this property

When was US 31-Pentwater River Bridge listed on the National Register?

US 31-Pentwater River Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 20, 1999.

What type of historic resource is US 31-Pentwater River Bridge?

US 31-Pentwater River Bridge is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for US 31-Pentwater River Bridge?

The period of significance for US 31-Pentwater River Bridge is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near US 31-Pentwater River Bridge?

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