Located north of Moorland, this pony truss overpass crosses over the former Minneapolis & St. Louis tracks.
Built in 1921, the bridge reused a truss from the 1889 bridge at Carver, Minnesota. When that bridge was replaced, the two truss lines were stored at the depot at Carver, until a permanent home could be found.
In 1921, a contract was created for an overpass at this location. and the trusses were shipped by flatcar here. Minneapolis Steel & Machinery Company rebuilt the trusses at this site. Another identical bridge once existed at Victoria, Minnesota; although that was replaced in 2003.
When these pony trusses were no longer qualified for railroad service, railroads would rebuild them into overhead bridges. The rebuilding process typically included the strengthening of the trusses and the replacement of the floor.
Currently, the bridge consists of the pony truss with riveted connections. In addition, it sits on concrete substructures. As the structure is well maintained, it continues to rank as satisfactory in the National Bridge Inventory. It is hoped that if this bridge is to be replaced that it can be preserved somewhere else.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in good condition, with little severe deterioration.
The author has ranked the bridge as being regionally significant, due to the endangered truss design. A special thank you goes to Gene Green for searching M&StL AFE's to find this bridge.
The photo above is an overview.