EAGLE POINT BRIDGE - 1901

EAGLE POINT BRIDGE, LINEHAN, MOLO

Posted By: Cheryl Locher Moonen (email)
Date: 1/9/2017 at 22:39:06

Dubuque Daily Herald, August 3, 1901

THE NEW BRIDGE
~
WORK ON EAGLE POINT BRIDGE
NOW WORKING LARGE FORCE
OF MEN
~
THE PILING ALMOST COMPLETED
~
Coffer Dam Giving Some
Trouble – Bridge Will Be
Longest On River
~
Work on the new Eagle Point high bridge is being prosecuted vigorously these days. A large force of men are engaged in driving piles, preparing stone and otherwise assisting the work of erecting what will be the largest bridge on the Mississippi. Operations have assumed headway that it will be but a short time till the work of erecting the iron superstructure begins. Piles have already been driven for two of the four piers and a coffer dam has been constructed to enable the workmen to build the first, which is to lie near the Iowa side.

THE COFFER DAMS

Few persons know what a coffer dam is. A description is therefore not amiss. A coffer dam is a watertight enclosure, constructed in water, of piles, to render the water inside susceptible of being pumped out, thus exposing the bottom to full view. This kind of dam is seldom constructed unless (in case of bridge construction), rock is struck and piles cannot be driven to support the piers. When engineers marked out the site of Eagle Point Bridge they did not anticipate on striking any rock in the course they selected. But when the workmen attempted to drive piles for the first pier they at once encountered obstacles in the shape of a large fishing rock 56x24 feet, which lay six feet below the surface. All hopes of driving piles had to be abandoned immediately and preparations for the erecting of a coffer dam were begun. Coffer-dam work is quite expensive, but Linehan and Molo, who have the contract for driving piles and erecting the piers, proceeded directly to overcome the difficulty. Piles were driven all around the impediment and then 500 sacks of sand were used to stop the water soaking through. Steam pumps were then set working. Contrary to expectations, no material results were obtained, and then an investigation was made to determine whether or not the dam was properly constructed. Examination of all the parts showed that nothing was lacking and then speculation became rife as to where the discrepancy lay. Divers were procured and they, after a half hours work, discovered that the fishing rock contained a wide gap through which the water poured. To pump against these odds was useless, so work on the front pier had to be discontinued until the gaps in the rock could be closed with Portland cement. When the leakage is stopped no further trouble ids expected.

THE MIDDLE PIERS

The pilings for the two middle piers is almost ready to receive what is called the “caisson.” All the piles are driven twenty-six feet into the bed of the river and then are sawed off to receive the caissons. The latter is constructed of two heavy rows of very heavy timbers (12x12) tightly joined. After the caisson is in its place the masons begin operation.

FINE STONE USED

There at sixty men employed in preparing the stone that will be used in constructing the piers. The stone is of the best quality available in this vicinity, and comes from a quarry at Center Grove. It is transported to Eagle Point by rail.

LONGEST ON RIVER

It is not generally known that the new bridge when completed will be the longest on the Mississippi River. From the Iowa shore to the point in Wisconsin where the last piece of tressel will touch, is a distance of something over 3,000 feet. The bridge proper will be considerably less than this, as the steel work will reach only to Kimbell’s Island, which lies 1,100 feet from the Iowa shore. From the eastern shore of the island to the mainland will be a stretch of tressel work covering a distance of about 2,000 feet. The bridge will be a high bridge in fact as well as in name, as the main pier will be 70 feet above high water mark. Steamboats and other crafts will, therefore, have no difficulty in passing beneath it.

THE STEEL IS READY

The steel for the new bridge is already for shipment from the Toledo Steel Works, where it was constructed. Thus it can be seen that the directors of the new enterprise are bent on pushing the work so that it will be ready for work this fall. The contract stipulates that the bridge as far as the island be finished by November. By hard work the constructors expect to have t finished slightly before that time. After the masons are finished little time will be lost in erecting the steel work, as every piece is marked and ready to be put into place.

THE IOWA APPROACH

The approach from the Iowa side will be one of the finest features of the bridge. The city council has approved $25,000 for the work of grading, building retaining walls, etc., and it is safe to say that there will be no prettier drive then to the Eagle Point Bridge when all the improvements are completed. The approach lies several hundred feet north of the lime kiln. The first span will rest on solid rock and will be forty feet above the C. M. & St. Paul tracks. All together the Eagle Point Bridge will be the greatest improvement Dubuque has received in years.