Hydroelectric Heritage Trailway Bridge

Located near Lawe Street in Appleton, this deck plate girder bridge carries a former Chicago & North Western Railway spur over the main channel of the Fox River. As Appleton developed, diverse industries began popping up along the Fox River. While the Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Railway reached this area of Appleton in 1879, the existing C&NW mainline bypassed the Appleton riverfront. An industrial spur was first built to connect the Northern Wisconsin Division of the C&NW to the Appleton riverfront in 1879, leaving the existing mainline near Meade Street and following the Fox River as far as the dam near Oneida Street. The first bridge at this location consisted of a 13-span wooden Howe pony truss bridge, supported by timber crib piers and approached by timber pile trestle spans on either end. It is believed this bridge was renewed with a similar structure in the 1890s. By the turn of the 20th Century, wooden truss spans had largely become obsolete for railroad use. In addition, the C&NW began working to replace aging timber bridges over channels and canals of the Fox River in this area. Contracts for a new bridge at this location were awarded in 1916, and the present structure was completed in 1917.

Currently, the bridge consists of thirteen 40-foot deck plate girder spans and one 30-foot deck plate girder span on the east end. The bridge is set onto concrete abutments and steel cylinder piers, and runs at a significant skew. The superstructure follows a standard design for shallow deck girders, with four girder lines and thick stiffeners on the exterior. The piers are constructed out of oval shaped cylinders, which have been filled with concrete. Originally, the abutments used a standard U-shaped design, with no wing walls present. Chicago Bridge & Iron Works fabricated the superstructure, while Gaffin & Gehri completed the substructures. Deck girder spans were popular for railroad use, as they were durable and easy to construct. The C&NW used steel cylinder piers at several major structures during the early 20th Century, as this design of pier was particularly adept to be constructed under live traffic without minimal interruption to service, and required no dredging or cofferdams to reach stable ground. The piers present on this bridge use a slightly different design, with a larger footprint than the circular shapes used on other nearby structures. Many bridges in the Fox Cities area use a similar design to this bridge, due to the dynamic nature of the Fox River and need for lengthy, permanent structures with no concern for clearance underneath. The bridge continued to serve an industry at the east end until the 1980s, when it was abandoned. In the 2010s, the bridge was acquired by the City of Appleton for trail use, and was converted to a pedestrian bridge in 2020. Upon reuse as a pedestrian bridge, a wooden deck and attractive cable handrails were added to the bridge, and the structure now serves the Hydroelectric Heritage Trailway. At the same time, the abutments were repaired with faux-stone encasements and some girders received steel repairs. 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.