Waterford Bridge (Bridge L3275)
See features of the bridge
History and significance
The Waterford Bridge was constructed in 1909 and consists of a 140-foot, steel, riveted and bolted, Camelback through truss on concrete abutments. The bridge is located in rural Waterford Township about 2 miles northwest of Northfield in south-central Dakota County and carries a pedestrian trail across the Cannon River. Charles A. Forbes, the County Surveyor, designed the bridge and it was constructed by the Hennepin Bridge Company. The Waterford Bridge is significant as an example of a Camelback through truss with rigid riveted and bolted connections. It is one of the earliest extant bridges with rigid connections in the state and is the only known metal through-truss bridge in Minnesota featuring a limited number of bolted connections. Use of bolts was never a common practice in Minnesota, and is viewed as an intermediate evolutionary step between pinned construction and riveted construction.
Rehabilitation activities
In 2014 Waterford Township rehabilitated the Waterford Bridge. Work primarily consisted of replacing the southeast abutment, which was severely deteriorated. The concrete was replaced in-kind with concrete to match the original as closely as possible. The effort followed the Secretary of the Interior’s standards for rehabilitation. Work was completed through a National Trust grant and as part of the Twin Cities Partners in Preservation Program.
Location
Waterford Township (Dakota County)
Latitude, Longitude:
44.48752240, -93.12850520
Bridge features
Design and construction of a Camelback through truss, an increasingly rare bridge type in Minnesota.
Use of rivets at panel point connections rather than pin-connections, which would have been standard practice at this time.
Early use of bolted connections, notably connecting the floor beams to the trusses.