Peace Trail - Markham Creek Bridge

Located on the south side of Janesville, this deck plate girder bridge carries a former Chicago & North Western Railway line over Markham Creek. The first bridge at this location likely consisted of a timber pile trestle bridge, constructed when the line was first built. In 1916, the bridge would be replaced by the present deck plate girder bridge. Currently, the bridge consists of three 35-foot deck plate girder spans, set onto concrete substructures. The superstructure uses a standard design, with four shallow girders and four girders per span. These girders are arranged into two sets of two, with plate girder lateral bracing between the sets of girders. It is believed that these spans were fabricated in approximately 1900 for use at an unknown location, and later relocated here. The C&NW used both two and four girder designs for shallow plate girder bridges, and it is is unclear if the spans were modified to form "twinned" spans upon relocation, or originally constructed with the four girder design. The substructure was constructed with a standard design, including diamond shaped piers and standard abutments with sloped wing walls. The superstructure was fabricated by an unknown contractor, and the substructure was constructed by an additional unknown contractor. Railroads often reused steel and iron spans, as it provided a cost effective way to upgrade bridges on branch lines without requiring large amounts of new material. Since the initial construction, the bridge has seen few structural alterations. In 2006, a concrete deck and railings were added to the bridge, and it now serves as part of the Peace Trail. During this rehabilitation, the original substructure appears to have been modified by adding a thin concrete encasement. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design and unknown history.