SPRING STREET BRIDGE

This is not the Spring Street bridge, but it soon will be.  Right now, it's the first Virginia Street Bridge built by John Brisbain Walker, who attemped to completely develope the West Side. This photo was taken around 1897,  while the bridge was built in 1873  and  called the Keystone Bridge. . The old "Washington St Bridge" was a Toll bridge which fell into the river in 1904.  Later, the Virginia St bridge was dismantled and moved to Spring Street, becoming the first bridge there. However, it didn't last long because traffic was already too heavy for it, so it was closed more than it was open. Finally it was removed and a modern bridge built in its place.

 

We dont have a photo when the Virginia Street Bridge was moved to Spring Street to become the Spring Street Bridge. But we do have this photo showing the west end of the bridge as they were dismantling it in order to build the new bridge.

These next few photos show the new Spring Street bridge going up. However, due to a flood, much of the work was destroyed and the work had to start all over again.

In 1991, the old bridge you see being built above was torn down to make way for a new bridge.  By now, steel and construction methods became such that there was no need for the types of bridges in the past.  Now, a straight ribbon of steel was all that was necessary.  And so today, this is the current Spring Street Bridge.....

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