1998 Excellence in Highway Design Category 3b - Major Highway Structures under $10 Million Merit Award
Five Mile Bridge - Old Stage Road over the Illinois and Michigan Canal
Morris, Illinois
Designer: Graef, Anhalt, Schloemer & Associates, Chicago, Illinois
Contractors: Belvidere Construction, Belvidere, Illinois
This innovative structure is the first timber arch bridge in Illinois. The arches, beams, and deck are pressure-treated, glue-laminated southern yellow pine, a material compatible with the rustic environment of this national heritage corridor. The innovative use of a steel rod cross-bracing system hidden just below the deck is used to carry lateral loads to the bridge's abutments.