Historic Bridges of Nebraska

Burt County

Tekamah City Bridge

US Hwy 75 over Tekamah Creek Tekamah Burt County, Nebraska Total Length: 51 ft. Roadway Width: 47 ft. 1-Span, Concrete Rigid Frame BUILT: 1934 by the Koehler Construction Company S075 13280

Developed in the early 1920s in Westchester County, New York, the concrete rigid frame bridge became popular for federal relief projects during the 1930s. Both picturesque and practical, the flat-arched design appealed to proponents of urban beautification. The Tekamah Bridge represents a formative use of this structural type by the Nebraska Bureau of Roads and Bridges. The bureau designed this 48-foot span in February 1934. As described by the state engineer, "the slab or deck takes the form of a very flat arch with a comparatively thin slab at the crown. This feature promotes economy and, being of a curved arched shape, it naturally lends itself to a beautifying architectural treatment." In March 1934 the bureau contracted with the Koehler Construction Company of Sterling, Nebraska, to build the bridge. The structure's opening later that year was celebrated with a town dance on it. Today, the Tekamah Bridge is distinguished as one of the two oldest examples in the state of this uncommon structural type. It is important for its Depression-era federal relief funding, which not only improved the nation's infrastructure and provided jobs for the legions of unemployed but also, for the first time, allowed the use of federal highway funds for construction in urban areas.