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Sutliff Bridge Design Progress
January 16, 2012
The Iowa City Press-Citizen has written an article to update the progress at this link:
Crews to start rebuilding Sutliff Bridge this week
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The preliminary design of a renovated Sutliff Bridge is complete.
Work on the final design will begin next week, with the goal of finishing it in July. Construction is scheduled to start this fall and wrap up in August 2012, Tim McDermott of VJ Engineering told the Johnson County Board of Supervisors on Thursday.
The Coralville firm is handling the design and construction management for the project.
Sutliff Bridge had spanned the Cedar River in the northeast corner of the county before one-third of it was swept away in the flood of 2008. The structure opened in 1898 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Federal and state funds will cover the cost to replace the damaged part of the bridge, estimated at $1.7 million, plus about $440,000 to bring it up to code.
A construction estimate will come during the final design process, McDermott said.
The bridge is to be rebuilt in a design similar to what existed before the flood. McDermott reinforced that in a brief presentation Thursday, saying the approach spans and truss spans will be nearly identical to the original structure.
VJ Engineering is recommending a 3-foot-6-inch steel picket fence handrail running along both sides of the bridge deck.
A community meeting will be held in the coming weeks so people can give their input on the design.
History of Sutliff Brdige
The Sutliff Bridge was named after the founder of the village, Allen Sutliff who had established a ferry service in 1838. After almost 60 years, the ferry service was retired when a petition was granted in December 1896 by the Johnson County Supervisors to build the existing structure known as Sutliff Bridge. J.R. Sheely and Co. of Des Moines and a local engineer G.W. Wynn of Iowa City was awarded the contract for $12,000. The bridge was completed in April 1898 and is an excellent example of a pin connected Parker Truss. The truss spans are 214 feet each, at the time the longest of its kind in the state of Iowa. These modified Parker truss spans consist a 3-rhombus lattice portal bracings with subdivided 45° heel bracings. The Sutliff Bridge served as a vital link for northeast Johnson County over the Cedar River from
the end of the nineteenth century to 1985.
After a modern replacement was built over the Cedar River in 1983, the bridge was slated for destruction, but it was ultimately saved. The old bridge was repurposed to offer its visitors a one of a kind view of the fast flowing Cedar river as well as a nice place to sit and visit with friends and family alike. On September 11, 1999, the Johnson County Iowa Board of Supervisors placed the 102 year old
structure on the National Registry of Historic Places.
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