Historic bridge needs a new home

The Idaho Department of Transportation is giving away a bridge. No, this is not another one of those “Have I got a bridge for you” jokes. It’s for real, and the offer, recently advertised in The Spokesman-Review and other regional publications, has two potential takers, according to IDT planner Denna Grangaard.

The bridge is presently in Rathdrum near the junction of State highways 41 and 53 and allows traffic on Highway 41 to cross safely above the BNSF Railway Co. right of way. In the near future the bridge will be replaced with a longer span in order to accommodate the addition of one more track. The additional rails are needed because of the consolidation, at that point, of the BNSF and Union Pacific rail lines.

According to Grangaard, it is part of a plan sponsored by the Spokane Regional Transportation Council and the IDT aimed at increasing highway safety by reducing the number of area rail crossings.

The Rathdrum Bridge, built in 1936 as a project of the Public Works Administration, is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places because of its role in the region’s development, its engineering design, and its historic association with federal bridge-building efforts during the 1920s and 1930s. For these reasons and because federal money is involved, the National Historic Preservation Act requires documentation as well as mitigation in order to maintain the historic integrity of the bridge. The bridge will be monitored during removal and after relocation.

According to architectural historians, the Highway 41 bridge reflects influences of Renaissance and Classical Revival styles. All of the classical elements of design are present although simplified. The construction material is reinforced concrete with abutments at each end. Rows of concrete pillars with capitals support the span and elevate it above the tracks. The decorative arches adorning the top railings are reminiscent of the arches of the Roman aqueducts. The deck of this cantilevered bridge is supported by curved brackets and reinforced concrete beams. Beneath the deck are three, shallow, classic Roman arches. The view that best provides an appreciation of the bridge is from the embankment above the right of way rather than from the bridge itself or its approaches.

According to Grangaard, two men have expressed interest in giving the bridge a new home – Bill Hannabis, who lives and owns land above the rimrocks near Garwood, and Mike Cysewski, who, with his family, lives and operates the longtime family farm south of Rathdrum near Church Road.

Both would use the bridge in similar situations. Both have farms, and both have a need for a bridge to cross a stream that runs through their property. Neither needs as long a bridge as the Rathdrum bridge. However, it is possible, according to Grangaard, that the two could divide and share the bridge, which is built in sections and could be separated. This possibility interests both men.

Cysewski says that his parents, John and Meg, plan to build a new home on the property, and a bridge will be necessary to access the building site. He describes the bridge as “cool.”

Hannibus also needs a bridge to connect parts of his acreage. His son lives on one parcel and it would be nice, he says, for his grandkids to be able to go back and forth across the stream. He and his wife have a particular interest in history and have been antique collectors.

“The bridge has been there for so long, I would like to keep it as much as possible in its original condition,” he says. “We’ll have an antique bridge to go with our other antiques.”

He also says that once the bridge was moved to his property, there would be no chance of its being moved again. “If people would like to come see it, they would be welcome.”

Moving a bridge is a big undertaking. However, the Rathdrum Bridge would be small potatoes compared with relocating the London Bridge that originally spanned the Thames River. It was taken apart in the 1960s, with each stone numbered and shipped 10,000 miles to Lake Havasu, Ariz., where it was reassembled. Now it is a popular tourist attraction.

The cost of moving the Rathdrum bridge would be considerable, but demolishing it and disposing of the remains would also be expensive. To help recipients with the cost, the government will subsidize the move with the same amount of money that would have been spent on demolition and disposal.

Those in the preservation community are sorry that the bridge cannot remain in its original context but feel moving it to the property of interested persons who will care for it is a better option than losing it altogether.