WSOR WIS-120 Bridge

Located east of Zenda, this deck plate girder bridge carries a former Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) line over Wisconsin Highway 120 near the Illinois State Line. The first bridge at this location consisted of a timber pile trestle bridge, constructed when the line was first built. In the late 1920s, the Wisconsin State Highway Commission worked with railroads throughout the state to improve various crossings, often constructing new grade separations. In 1928, the Milwaukee Road led a project to reconstruct the bridge with the present structure. Currently, the bridge consists of a 45-foot deck plate girder span, set onto concrete piers and approached by two timber pile trestle spans on either end. The superstructure uses a modified version of a standard design, with three moderate sized girder lines, connected by altered interior bracing. Railroad records indicate that the girders may have been fabricated in 1904 for use at an unknown location, and reused here in 1928. Using three girder lines is somewhat unusual, and may indicate that this bridge was constructed out of spare parts, and not necessarily an entire bridge span. The girders contain a shelf on the interior, likely indicating that they were originally part of a type "B" through plate girder bridge. The lateral bracing consists of solid plates, and the girder lines are connected by lateral bracing placed immediately under the ties. The concrete piers use a standard rectangular shape, typical of standard Milwaukee Road bridges. An unknown contractor fabricated the superstructure, and it is unknown if the substructure was constructed by an unknown contractor or by railroad company forces. Deck plate girder spans were commonly used by railroads, as they were durable and easy to construct. The Milwaukee Road often strengthened spans by reusing components of another bridge. This method saved costs, and provided a strong and durable finished product. The bridge received a minor rehabilitation in 2013, when the piers were encased with concrete. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked the bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design and unknown history.