The Dells Bridge

Bridges are utilitarian structures with a very mundane purpose, carrying traffic over an obstruction. The way in which a new bridge affects its environment is hardly ever one of the chief concerns of designers and builders. Unless, of course, said bridge is meant to cross one of the most striking scenes of natural beauty in the state. Such was the case in 1926 when the old truss bridge at the Dells of Eau Claire was condemned.¹ After the county engineer first recommended replacing the Eau Claire Dells Bridge in November 1926, the county board approved its replacement with a concrete girder bridge.² Though this was a very modern choice for the time, at a cost of only $9,500,³  it was also the simplest and cheapest.

The First Dells Bridge was distinctly utilitarian and certianly didn't contribute to the beauty of the park. 
Credit: MCHS Photo Collection

"In Keeping with the Beauty of the Rocky Dells"          

A concrete girder bridge, though functional, would have drastically detracted from the beauty of the park, so as early as April 1927, it was suggested that a new, more aesthetically sympathetic structure be designed.⁴  The winning bidder for the redesigned bridge was Fischer & Sons of Antigo, Wisconsin.⁵ Their proposal was for a closed spandrel reinforced concrete arch bridge “of an artistic design in keeping with the beauty of the rocky dells of the river.”⁶ To further meld the bridge with its landscape, designers proposed that it should be clad in locally harvested stone.⁷ All of the extra attention to detail did raise the price considerably. The Fischer & Sons Bridge was to be nearly $3,700 more expensive with an estimated cost of $13,175 but even so, the county road and bridge committee felt that they had secured a very favorable price.⁸

A Modern Classic          

On the exterior, the new bridge looked like a classic uncoursed masonry bridge, however beneath its rustic and seemingly random veneer was an extremely modern design. Somewhat counterintuitively, the veneer was started first and the actual bridge was then built inside of it. To accomplish this a falsework was erected at the site in the spring of 1927 onto which the decorative arch ring would be laid. A special technique was developed to join the stones together. Each ring stone, or voussoir, was joined to its neighbor by a ½” steal dowel set into holes drilled through each one. Steel wire was then wound around the dowel at each joint and pulled back into the concrete form so that once the concrete was poured the decorative arch would be securely fastened to the loadbearing structure of the bridge. The Highway Commission took special care to hide the engineering that went into this process and each voussoir was carefully cut to appear random while still minimizing visible mortar joints thereby preserving illusion that the bridge was supported by a dry stacked loadbearing arch.⁹ The actual loadbearing structure of the bridge was a bar reinforced concrete arch built to the State Highway Commission’s newest standards.¹⁰ Upon the span’s completion in fall of 1927 county commissioners labeled it “a piece of art which everyone can be proud.”¹¹ The Dells Bridge quickly became a local landmark and enduring symbol of Marathon County’s Parklands and stood for 88 years before its eventual retirement.

The 1927 Bridge almost seems melt into the background, leaving the Dells themselves as the focal point.
Credit: MCHS Photo Collection

 Replacing an Icon            

In 2015, the aging Dells Bridge was quietly replaced. Once again the Marathon County Highway Department took great care in designing a bridge that would be sympathetic to its surroundings and, to the credit of both the 1927 bridge’s designers and the modern highway department, the 2015 bridge ended up looking almost identical to its predecessor. The majority of the original decorative stonework was reused in the construction of the new bridge. The stones were carefully removed from the old bridge,and taken to a nearby quarry where they were cut into a veneer to be afixed to the new reinforced concrete structure. When the bridge was finished, the only outward signs of the change were the ornamental arches which, in a concession to modern standards were made of cast concrete instead of stone. So while the original Dells Bridge may be gone, its successor will continue to serve as an equally fitting gateway to one of Marathon County’s most beautiful parks for decades to come.

Only the concrete arch gives away the 2015 bridge as a modern build.
Credit: MCHS Photo Collection
 

A Note on the Dells Footbridge          

The Dells Road Bridge is not the only notable bridge at the Dells of Eau Claire. Aproximately 1/2 mile downriver stands the Dells Footbridge erected by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1938 and 1939. This bridge was built as part of general improvements to the park by men from the Rib Mountain CCC Camp. Other CCC improvments to the Dells of the Eau Claire included the construction of trail shelters, a scenic overlook, and the park's pavillion and general trail maintanance and brush clearing. Further work was halted in 1941 by the outbreak of World War Two. 

Summer 1938: A CCC worker stands on a temporary footbridge used during the construction of the Dells Foot Bridge. 
Credit: MCHS Photo Collection

The nearly finished Dells Footbridge awating its deck and railing
Credit: MCHS Photo Collection

A trio of rightly proud CCC Boys pose on the newly finished Dells Footbridge in the winter of 1939. 
Credit: MCHS Photo Collection

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