Lake Shore Drive Bridge - Eagle River, MI
Posted by: 
linkys
N 47° 24.732 W 088° 17.810
16T E 402168 N 5251787
A 1915 highway bridge that the highway no longer crosses.
Waymark Code: WMCF8K
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 08/31/2011
Views: 5
Originally constructed as part of the Michigan Trunk Line Highway system that was built when the automobile started replacing horse drawn buggies, it today serves as an example of the early road system in Michigan.
Originally part of the road system that supplied the copper mines of the area, when the mines closed it found a new life as a crossing point for tourists enjoying the area. When it came time to replace it in 1990, instead of demolishing it after the new bridge was constructed next to it, it was preserved as a remembrance of what once was, being converted to pedestrian only use.
The following is taken from the website, keweenawfreeguide.com
"...steel riveted bridge is a 139 foot long Warren deck-truss, set atop a pair of concrete footings set into the ravine’s walls. The bridge’s road deck is 17 feet wide and its main span was 105 feet in length."
This is a great stopping point to see the design of highway bridges in 1915, the old bridge, and the design of highway bridges in 1990, the new wood arch bridge next to it.