Buena Vista Road Bridge, Spanning Upatoi Creek at Fort Benning, Columbus

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER GA-143. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The design of the Buena Vista Road bridge has been identified as a Marsh rainbow arch, named for its designer and patentee, James B. Marsh. The patent was issued in when Marsh was president of his own engineering company in Des Moines, Iowa. Bridges of this type were popular from the time of the patent until the early particularly in the midwest of the United States but a few examples are found outside that region. Report Prepared by: Environmental Resources Branch U.S. Army Engineer District Savannah, Georgia Date: August BUENA VISTA ROAD BRIDGE HAER No. GA-143 (page 2) The Buena Vista Road Bridge may ba described generically as a 11 t h a.1, b :i. d qr, ,, 1 -- Eif in q to th C :? i0.r-- ch , -- i s,. in q O\lf.':!

th i2i deck, as vehicles literally pass through, or between, the arc~ies <P J. a.t c:' 2) . The Marsh rainbow arch is constructed either with tied or fixed arches; the Buena Vista Road Bridge is a tied arch. is supported on top of a pier or abutment. The tension tie runs from one end of the span to the other, much like the bow string. plared on caps of piers. length II c::i+ ':e-t.1--i nqE: i3.l"l d clE:. c: k i. qu,,. c\ ti on 1 ( F j_ (lU!'""F,: :i. "-i t :i. l th E:: d 1:, C k ( F :i. q Ui'' f: ~ 4 ., F 1 t ( :? :I. ) 0t its apex the deck surface. Its profile width :i. ', I .i::. ..: ., _.. BUENA VISTA ROAD BRIDGE HAER No.

GA-143 (page 3) The railing is comprised of vertical columns between upper and lower handrails, sPp~rated at approximately 10' intervals by rail posts (Figures 4 and 5). These sections are referred to as handrail spaces (Figure 4, Plate 3>. There are eight approach span guardrail end posts, slightly larger and more elaborate than rail posts (Figure 6a~ b, and c). Four of these are located in pairs at the outer ends of the spans, and four are placed at the hasPs of the arches, marking the approach to the arch span :lt~-;elf, sections of the entire length of the bridge: there are ten vertical columns per bay in the outer eight bays, nine in each bay approaching the arch span, and eight per bay within the central four bays of the arch span itself (Figure 3).

Triangular forming, in elevation, rectangles enclosing the lower part of the cci f .. Ch ( Fi CJ U 2 "/ ) " Interior triangular insets fill out the bays where eight vertical columns would not fit within the curve of Beveling on rail posts and guardrail end posts, triangular insets as well as vertical columns provide further decorative detail. The result is a harmonious resolution to structural and artistic demands. BUENA VISTA ROAD BRIDGE HAER No. GA-143 (page 4) The superstructure of the bridge (deck, pair of arches, rails, spans and T-beamsl is supported by two reinforced concrete abutments, two tied-column, web wall piers, and four tied-column piers on square footings.

The four outer piers consist of two vertical columns with horizontal strut <Figure 8), whereas the two central piers which support the arch span, of similar The bridge has two tJ'"i:\ff:i.c lane~;., v~it.h 1 ciad1,,,1.:::i.y anc:t~ of 18' t.hE! Total deck width (out tu OU t) i. ::; 21 ' 1" . Piers are numbered one through six from west to east. Abutment #1 is on the west side of the bridge, and Abutment #2 is Upatoi Creek flows north to south. In~'::-Pf~ct :i. on !=-..:E",1po1 t i:;;ta.tr.:2 ::. '' t.hE! only ,,;1ppar E;;,nt mcid:i. +i c,::1.t.i on~.; made since construction being the removal of a cross beam located damage is rumored to have occurred in the but no record has been found to document the incident.

rr,ore cc:immon ch ~,;p,i:1n'' bt-id!;l<0!, in ll'Jhich ch i~,; confined entirely within the substructure, has been known at The arch span design was readily BUENA VISTA ROAD BRIDGE HAER No. GA-143 (page 5) adapted to reinforced concrete, and bridges of this type are nowadays universal. In contrast, the concrete rainbow bridge design is rare, and construction of his rainbow arch bridge mostly in the mid-west of the United States from when he patented the design, until the mid-thirties. He died in Des Moines in rainbow arch bridges were constructed by Marsh; apparently he had no direct contact with the Buena Vista Road Bridge. Research to date reveals that the only bridge he built in the southeast is near Alexandria, Louisiana.

It should be stressed here that the bridge' design was in general use only for approximately 20 years. A relatively large number of rainbow arch bridges were built during this short time, but the survivors are now comparatively ~ewy and certainly diagnostic of the early, and energetic, days of road and bridqe building in America. The design was superseded in the mid-30s with the beam style bridge. It seems to be nothing more than coincidence that the passing of popularity of the rainbow arch design coincided with the death of Marsh. Although not all State Highway Department inventories of historic bridges are complete, Kansas and Iowa seem to have the g~eatest number of Marsh bridges, many of which have been ' . BUENA VISTA ROAD BRIDGE HAER No.

GA-143 (page 6) declared eligible or placed on the National Register of Historic Whereas the Marsh rainbow bridge was popular, especially in the mid-west, during a twenty year period, that particular style cannot be considered common or ordinary when the number of Marsh bridges is balanced against the amount of other kinds of historic bridges (metal truss, for example>. Historic Documentation Official state and county records hold no information on the date of construction, designer and/or engineer, and construction compEtny . However, these three vit l items of information are found in the local newspaper. the Columbus Ledger in various articles reporting meetings of the Muscogee County Commissioners The records are stored on microfilm.

In a repor t of 16 January, the County Commissioners agreed to a proposal of L .. M. Houser to spend to replace eight wood and steel bridges with concrete. Item #3 in the list b1':i.dq~"''.< ,,. .,ide . Prnpnsed br1age= 6 . ?? (illegible) spans, 18' t....,idE ,'' .~ta co of During that meeting, it was suggested that M. L. Bullingrodt ' I l BUENA VISTA ROAD BRIDGE HAER No. GA-143 (page 7) I !,j J con:st1, uc:t i. on. Bullingrodt did, in fact, accept the offer which was announced at the next meeting The commissioners advertised the construction project in the newspaper, and received bids which were opened on 13 February. T.E. Wilkes Co. of LaGrange, GA Columbus Contracting Co. 27, Campbell Construction Co. Barlow-Gordy Construction Co. Hardaway Construction Co. Atkinson Construction Co.

Although not the lowest bidder, Columbus Contracting Company was awarded the contract. The president of the company at that time was Major John Paul Janes, who, in was quartermaster No information has been located on who chose the Marsh rainbow arch design for the replacement of the wooden covered bridqe. Presumably the commissioners made the decision as the newspaper announcement, inviting bids, listed specific amounts of ' . BUENA VISTA ROAD BRIDGE HAER No. GA-143 (page 8) ) County Commissioners Office'' (Columbus Ledger, 24 January 5 The whereabouts of these documents is presently unknown.

the creek was spanned at the same soot by a covered wooden The date of construction of the wooden bridqe is Overland Highway (the Buena Vista Road was a segment of the The itinerary is.documented in a newspaper The covered wooden bridge was still standing in evidenced by an entry in Book K of Chattahoochee County, Mehaffey sold, for dollars, a trianqle just east of the covered bridge across Upatoi Creek from Co. to Chattahoochee Co. and filed 16 July of the same year. The concrete bridqe is BUENA VISTA ROAD BRIDGE HAER No. GA-143 (page 9) (at that time State Route compiled by the State Hi way of Georgia. The log notes at miles from the Columbus which the Chattahoochee County Commissioners turned over highway rights to the State of Georgia for maintenance.

The only documentation on the bridge in the files of the Georgia Department of Transportation is a card in the Road Life Burve;. Construction and Retirement Record. part of a survey carried out in the early IGformation on the card shows that the bridge was taken on the state highway system in and The Buena Vista Road became State property when the Georgia Highway Department was created ir, Prior to that date, when Project, dated and The blueprints bear the t. it J. ;;~ '' F' 1 i:':i.n cl F'i" u+ :i. J. t: ? F'I" o ,,;E'ci i3t ,. .. , .,, ! I :i. q / ,, Cha.t t ,:,,huuch c c l \BUENA VISTA ROAD BRIDGE \HAER No. GA-143 (page 10) Department of Georgia. An index on the blueprint of lists Sheets 22 and 23 as plan and elevation of the bridge, and bridge details! respectively.

Total number of sheets for the project was unfortunately their whereabouts are unknown. Present Structural Condition Two engineering reports of the bridge have been prepared for Fort Benning, in and The report assessed the overall structural condition of the bridge. drainage'' (Ezra Mier Associates Spalls and delamination were noted on ra11s, deck, and pi~rs. Pier #3 had settled o;-: i rnat<::: 1 \' 0 ''. Abutments were rated in fairly good condition. In an alignment survey and assessment of the condition of the bridge was carried out by Hager and O'Neil. i had suffered significant deterioration during the intervening five vears. New cracks had appeared in the substructure, and settling of piers had continued.

Condition of abutments 9 deck, and railings had not altered as drastically; howeve~, the railing separated from the arch as Pier #4 settled (Plate 4). Rotation of the bridge deck occurred, exacerbated by the previous removal of the cross beam which tied the arches at the apex of the BUENA VISTA ROAD BRIDGE HAER No. GA-143 (page 11) The report recommended various methods of repair for the bridge, none of which could be properly carried out without first determining the cause of settlement of Pier #3. Original construction plans were (and still are) missing, and construction of pier footings unknown. BUENA VISTA ROAD BRIDGE HAER No. GA-143 (page 12) :! NW, Photorevised Buena Vista Road lies north of Eelbeck and Cooks Mill Pond. Buena Vista Road Bridge is indicated with arrow.

Benning composite map, {:1u.(:Ju.~:;t 1 ::.;s~:/=_;:i 1_1 l :i ~ '.i l (:, u intervals. Enlarged. Bridge indicated with arrow. 3b. Elevation View. 4. Elevation of arch span. A~. Front view, approach span guardrai] end post . Side iew, approach span guardrail end post showing rail E ! t. r 1 f:~ ,, & Plan, cao of approach span guardrail end post. Elevation, base of arch, triangular insets and interior bay. H. Example of outer tied-column pier. ROAD BRIDGE I BUENA vis:~143 (page 13) HAERNo.G BUENA VISTA ROAD BRIDGE HAER No. GA-143 (page 14) f [! I Ii BUENA VISTA ROAD BRIDGE HAER No. GA-143 (page 15) { c:, ~ ~ ~; ~ " >1 , - l - ~ ~ "'" """ ~ ~ . m ro w w " , BUENA VISTA ROAD BRIDGE HAER No. GA-143 (page 16) { Cl . BUENA VISTA ROAD BRIDGE HAER No. GA-143 (page 17) ~ ij I u I- I- - .

~ n ~ ij lI BUENA VISTA ROAD BRIDGE HAER No. GA-143 (page 18) Figure 6a (left) Figure 6b ( right) Figure 6c ( top center) --- ~ j - I J ' . - 0 1 foot BUENA VISTA ROAD BRIDGE HAER No. GA-143 (page 19) Figure 7 0 2 feet BUENA VISTA ROAD BRIDGE HAER No. GA-143 (page 20) Figure 8 0 4 feet