Main Street Bridge (Racine, Wisconsin): Difference between revisions

An iron {{w|swing bridge}} was ultimately built at Main Street for $10,690, with construction beginning in 1876.<ref name=spanovertime-1996/> Although editorials in the [[Racine Journal]] raised concerns about the quality of the ongoing construction in February 1877,<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54009615/racine-journal/ "Lord: What a Bridge It Would Have Been"], [[Racine Journal]], February 28, 1877, page 3.</ref> the finished bridge was approved by Milwaukee inspectors N. B. Lord and W. H. Keeper in May.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54010344/racine-journal/ City council report: Bridge Committee"], [[Racine Journal]], May 16, 1877, page 3.</ref> In 1882, the Racine Journal wrote that the bridge was indeed poorly constructed, finding among other things that the swing mechanism no longer worked as intended and the bridge had to be pried open with a crowbar when ships passed.<ref name=spanovertime-1996/><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54026000/the-journal-times/ "Talk with the Tars: Or a Visit About the Docks and River–What is Being Done"], [[Racine Journal]], March 23, 1882, page 4.</ref>

 

By 1906, the thirty-year-old swing bridge was clearly inadequate and was described as "dilapidated". While some suggested that a new swing bridge should be built to replace it, others, such as Frank J. Becker, argued that swing bridges had become obsolete with the introduction of {{w|bascule bridge}}s, which did not require a pier in the middle of the river and thus created less obstruction to passing ships.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54034929/the-journal-times/ "Bridge Bonds Should Carry: Frank J. Becker Advances Good Arguments Favorable to a Bascule Structure"], [[Racine Journal]], January 22, 1906, page 8.</ref> The push for a new bridge was successful, although the city decided to build a new swing bridge rather than a bascule bridge, contracting [[Edward Gillen Construction Company]] of Milwaukee to do the job. The old bridge was demolished later that year, with a temporary {{w|pontoon bridge}} built for pedestrians to use until the new bridge was finished. In September, it was reported that labor strikes, problems with the supply of West Coast timber, and a severe storm caused by remnants of the {{w|1906 Mississippi hurricane}} all delayed construction of the new bridge.<ref name=spanovertime-1996/><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54039817/the-journal-times/ "More Delay on Main St. Bridge"], [[Racine Journal]], September 28, 1906, page 8.</ref>