11/3/2005
Pat Baker (This is Part 2 of a two-part series on the Sumner Avenue bridge project, with Part 1 appearing in the Oct. 27 issue of the Humboldt Independent.) Work began on the big cut on the Johnston hill in June, 1920: "That big steam shovel is scooping and grunting on the big cut through the Johnston hill on the road for the new concrete bridge at the west end of Sumner Avenue. The earth there is filled with a mess of tree roots and every shovelful must be dragged loose from their tenacious hold. "When some of the biggest stumps are reached the shovel scoops out under them, and then Will Johnston comes down with a load of dynamite and blows them into the excavation. At such times there is a scattering of all help for places of safety. "The big shovel will have to make four trips through this cut to finish the road bed. The shovel only has a length sufficient for half the road bed. Therefore it will require two trips to complete the width. Then it only has a depth capacity for half the depth required. The second two trips will be made in the earth underneath where it worked the first time through. "Twenty feet is what the machine can dig in depth, and the cut through the Johnston hill will be thirty-seven feet deep in places." With the work on the Dakota City hills finished in September 1920, workmen and machinery could shift from that location to the Johnston hill. "The work on the cut through the bluffs will be pushed as rapidly as possible." In April 1921, seven months later, the newspaper reported that teams and scrapers were being used to finish the big cut on the Johnston hill. The big steam shovel had been taken out. In July gangs of men were putting in the concrete at the top of the hill with a steam mixer. The road reached all the way to the corner of Highway 169 and 4th Avenue Southwest (the high school corner). Other gangs were hauling sand, gravel and concrete from the railroad yards, where the material had been unloaded to the hill. The curb was laid well ahead of the pavement. July 8, 1921: "It is not known just how far the paving will be carried this year, but it will go at least past the cut (in the hillside) and onto the fill (at the bottom of the hill). There is considerable discussion of the matter of paving the fill. "Many experienced men contend that the fill as it is will not settle, and there is a strong sentiment to finish the paving this fall. If the work is carried on, the bottom of the fill will have been in practically a year before paving. The top of the fill can be rolled by the big roller, and such fills are always paved without waiting for a settle for the roller does the settling." July 27, 1921: "Not many days work are left on the grade just west of the new bridge in Humboldt. Driveways are being provided across the grade for the street by the Anderson house, which will allow the driving of autos into the shady woods north of the grade (Hickory Lane area). "Also a driveway will be provided so that autoists can drive from the grade into the parking ground south of the bridge (Tourist Park). There is a wonderfully beautiful plat of bluegrass and shade trees and several large springs that will delight the campers. It is planned by some of the societies of the town to place earthen ovens in this plat, and drain or pen the lagoon, and bring into a tile the large springs of fresh water." On July 29, 1921, the newspaper reported that the Iowa Highway Commission ordered that the paving on the Johnston hill and the grade leading up to it must stop on the grade a couple of hundred feet west of the bridge. They also ordered that the new concrete bridge would not be finished in 1921. The newspaper worried, "To leave the lower part of the grade without paving will mean that the water rushing down the paving already laid will wash out a great portion of the grade near the bridge." On Aug. 12, 1921, George Foster, an engineer and former Humboldt boy, looked at the bridge. He was concerned that the bridge would not stand up to the volume of water that comes down the river in times of flood. "The bridge did not have room beneath its arches to care for the flood." He offered some suggestions on how to handle the volume. In December 1921, Humboldt County sued Dakota City for $8,300, the sum alleged to be due the county for the paving that had been laid through that town. They had pledged to give $13,000. A portion of this was supposed to have been levied in taxes against the abutting property, and a portion of it was supposed to be raised by popular subscription. Paving the new grade at the foot of the Johnston hill was supposed to start in April 1922, but was delayed until May. Workmen finished the paving and sidewalk over the concrete bridge by May 26, 1922. They also finished the paving over the entire cut and fill on the Johnston hill portion of the road. It was thrown open for travel sometime in June. Now it could be called the Sumner Avenue hill. The roadway progressed down the hill at a 6% grade, then made a gentle curve around to the east to cross the new bridge. One compliment for the engineers: "The cement water intake that starts at the opening on the south side of the pavement and empties on the north side is one of the best things about the entire road. This keeps the water on the north side of the grade and prevents flooding the tourists park." "This new road and bridge is, we believe, the most outstanding improvement that has been made to Humboldt since the establishment of the town. Certainly, when one considers it in connection with the paving that extends from the east side of Dakota City to the west side of Humboldt, the improvements here made will make a more vivid impression on the visitor than any other in the history of the town." After the project was completed, the iron Lewis Street bridge was supposed to be moved to north of Livermore, where the people needed a bridge badly. It was estimated that a savings of $1,000 could be made by taking up this bridge and transporting it to the new site. After thinking it over, they decided that the bridge was worth more where it was than it would be in a new location. They built a new bridge near Livermore and kept the Lewis Street bridge in place. Workmen were also working on the Volberding hill in April 1922. The gravel on the west end of the hill was cutting badly, because it did not get settled and packed before freezing weather came on. The grading from the top of the hill south to a short distance south of the C. & N.W. railroad crossing on Lone Tree Road was completed and graveled to accommodate the heavy traffic. The county also graveled the south 2-1/2 miles of Lone Tree Road to the Webster County line. This was not a part of the original agreement. The Volberding hill leading west toward Dakota City was cut down at the top and the dirt moved to the bottom of the hill. The slope was reduced from an 8% grade to a 6% grade. "As steep as an ordinary team can travel up with a heavy load," said J.A. Dunkel of Webster City, who was in charge of this part of the work. The roadbed down the hill was 29 feet wide. On Friday, June 23, 1922, the Sumner Avenue bridge was dedicated. The occasion was a culmination of the ambitions and struggles of Humboldt and surrounding country for several years. The dream of connecting the east and west branches with a pavement and building a new roadway to eliminate the steep Lewis Street hill, and placing a new concrete bridge over the west fork of the Des Moines, called for many things that demanded good business judgment, foresight and persuasion. They celebrated with speeches and song. The event was held outdoors. Mayor George Bicknell presided. Mr. Collins, president of the Farm Bureau, also spoke, and "the songs of the ladies were about as popular as any portion of the program could be. After being declared officially open, the lights were turned on on the new bridge and the autos started their endless travel over it - a travel that will be going long after you and I are under the sod." The bridge has held up under countless floods. It has been repaired and remodeled a number of times. Recently, engineers reported that major structural changes must be made. Let them read the story of the efforts of the original builders and not become discouraged.
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The Humboldt
Independent • Official paper of Humboldt County
Telephone: (515)
332-2514 |
