As I mentioned at the beginning of the tribute series, US Highway 71 runs through Jackson, Minnesota, which was my childhood place and where I graduated from high school. This bridge was on Mr. Backlin’s places to visit list in 2009 and was dismayed when he learned that this bridge had been replaced afterwards.
Not to worry, David. You are not alone.
The bridge we’re talking about is the Bridge at Vet’s Oil. The three-span concrete and steel girder bridge spanned the Des Moines River just outside downtown Jackson, carrying US Highway 71. And the name stems from the oil company that had been owned by Claire Gilmore for many decades, even though it had spread out to include a gas station and truck stop at the junction with Interstate 90, located two miles up the hill. Once a place for gas, a VFW post, a Subway restaurant, a repair shop and a car wash all occupy this spot where the photo was taken by yours truly on Christmas Day 2014, while making a surprise Christmas visit to my parents, aunt and uncle and other friends in town.
About the bridge itself, this was the second crossing and has three spans totaling 168 feet in length and 48 feet in width- enough for four lanes of traffic. It was built by L.M. Feller of Rochester, Minnesota in 1954. The company had been constructing dozens of crossings during its 30 years of existence, which ended by 1965- much of it in southern Minnesota. The bridge itself was a replacement of a Parker through truss span that has a history of its own.
The previous span was built in 1924 by the Iowa Bridge Company of Des Moines, Iowa. It was part of the project to realign US Highways 71 and 16, as it crossed the Des Moines River at State Street, then ran parallel to the Des Moines River and after climbing to the top of the river valley, also the Milwaukee Road. It then turned a sharp right, crossing the tracks near the Black Bridge and then left as it headed north towards Windom. The Realignment Project of 1924 eliminated this curve, resulting in the highway going straight up, curving only one time and allowing for passing lanes for cars wishing to pass slow-moving vehicles up the hill. The bridge featured an A-frame portal bracing, which was later replaced with a Howe lattice portals in 1939. In 1953, the decision was made to replace the truss span. The City of Jackson bought that truss span in 1954 and relocated it to the site of the State Street Bridge near Ashley Park in Jackson, which had been demolished prior to the time of the purchase. It reopened in 1955 and would serve traffic for another 30 years.
The 1954 span at Vet’s Oil would later be replaced with its current structure, but to the dismay of many in Jackson who were tired of seeing their historic and childhood places become nothing more but a memory. The bridge was still structurally sound and there were no complaints about the wear and tear of the structure on the part of the motorists. Yet the Minnesota Department of Transportation decided otherwise to replace it instead of rehabilitate it claiming that it had reached the end of its structural life and a modern structure would be a better fit. The bridge was replaced in 2016 and has remained one of the most controversial replacement projects in MnDOT’s history because of the cost to replace it, combined with the question of necessity.
When the bridge was replaced, the relicts of the 1970s and 80s were also gone. The bridge had unique railings and two McGraw-Edison cobra-head street lamps that were mounted on Union poles. These lamps were installed in the 1970s and at one time there had been one at each corner of the bridge. At Christmas time, they were decorated with garland lanterns and Christmas trees- a colorful site. The number was cut down to two by 1986 and the last two were taken down as the bridge was replaced. For vintage street light enthusiasts, it was a loss indeed. For Jackson, it’s an even harder loss as we have very little history left to show our children and grandchildren.
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The Bridgehunter's Chronicles 