Old Marshall County bridge
may get extended life span.
Park, golf course, memorial enter separate bids to relocate historic truss bridge
By GARY L. SMITH of the Peoria Journal Star, Friday, July 14, 2000

LACON, IL An old iron bridge that has more than done its duty at a creek crossing in rural Marshall County could have a new life in one of three different locations.

The 75-year-old structure, which has become, unsafe for truck and bus traffic, could provide greater pedestrian access to some parts of a city park in Chillicothe. Or the truss bridge, which has been declared historic by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, might join a virtual fleet of other unique bridges at a Streator area golf course that is intersected by two creeks. Or else it might get prominently displayed as a memorial to a fallen ironworker on carefully landscaped private property outside Rock Falls.

Those were the three proposals that came in by Thursday’s deadline after Marshall County engineer George Meister announced that the 80-foot bridge spanning Senachwine Creek west of Sparland was available to anyone willing and able to move it and then maintain it under IHPA guidelines.

“I was flabbergasted, I was delighted” to receive three serious proposals, said Meister, who had not really expected to receive any.

After all, he told a County Board committee, whoever takes over the bridge is “basically committed to maintaining this structure forever.”

Indeed, the long-term maintenance requirement is one thing that Chillicothe officials want to know more about before making a commitment, said Alderman Don White, a member of the City Council’s parks and cemeteries committee.

But if that’s feasible, the bridge could be a nice addition to the city’s Moffitt Park by affording grater access to areas on the far side of a steep ravine, he said.

“The bridge would fit pretty well into that ravine,” White said. “It would be for pedestrian use, nor vehicular.”

The bridge would have the limited ‘vehicular traffic of golf carts, and the company of several other bridges, if relocated to Twin Creeks Golf Course at Manville, southeast of Streator, said course owner Bob Pflibsen.

Pflibsen and his eight children have made bridges a dominant theme on the Twin Creeks landscape, there are seven now, including a rare 90-foot covered suspension bridge, and there’s a crossing that just cries out for a bridge like the one up for grabs in Marshall County, he said.

“This Marshall County bridge would be just ideal,” Pflibsen said.

The ideal of Bob Harms, meanwhile, is to haul the bridge to Rock Falls and set it on his property amidst the flowers and the carefully preserved antique farm implements. Harms is a semi-retired ironworker, and a brother of his was killed while working on a Mississippi River bridge.

“I think this would be a fitting tribute to him,” Harms said.

Whoever moves the bridge could get reimbursed for costs of $5,000 to $10,000, but the logistics of moving such a large structure could be pretty challenging, Meister pointed out. But both Harms and Pflibsen said they would be up to the task

Meister was preparing to send all three parties detailed information about IHPA requirements Thursday. If all follow through with formal proposals, it will probably be the state agency that decides among them, he said

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