NRHP Reference # 92000740 Built by Standard Bridge Company Added to NRHP 29 June 1992 | Opened 1909 Architectural style Truss bridge | |
 | ||
Location Dawson St. over the Middle Loup River, 1 mile south of Sargent MPS Highway Bridges in Nebraska MPS | ||
Sargent Bridge is a Pratt through truss steel bridge that spans the Middle Loup River near Sargent, Nebraska. It is one of the few remaining steel truss bridges constructed in Nebraska during the early 20th century. In 1992, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Contents
Description
The bridge is a six-panel, Pratt through truss steel bridge. It has two spans that are 120 feet (37 m) long. When the bridge was completed in 1909, it was reported to be 242 feet (74 m) long, but on the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, the reported total length is 136 feet (41 m). The bridge width is 18 feet (5.5 m).
History and significance
On March 19, 1908, the Custer County, Nebraska supervisors unanimously approved the construction of the Sargent Bridge. At that time, there was a wooden bridge over the river that was expensive to maintain. Building a steel bridge was viewed as more expensive by the board of supervisors, but in the long run they believed that it would save money on maintenance.
Work began on the bridge on November 19, 1908. However, construction on the bridge had been delayed and the starting date was approximately one month after its planned finish. The Standard Bridge Company was commissioned to build the bridge and they were under bond to build the bridge by October 13, 1908, but according to the bond they were only liable for damages and additional expenses if the bridge was not built on time. The bridge was finally completed during the first week of January, 1909, and it was inspected and approved by the county bridge committee.
This was the first steel bridge built in Custer County. Nebraska state engineers had estimated the cost at $10,000 ($266,556 today) and the original cost of the bridge by the county supervisors was $5,500 ($146,606 today). However, because of the quicksand in the river bed, bridge supports were sunk 10 feet (3.0 m) deeper at an additional cost of $1,500 ($39,983 today), which brought the total cost of the bridge to about $7,000 ($186,589 today).
In 1920, the Custer County board of supervisors asked the Nebraska state highway authorities to rebuild the Sargent Bridge to meet state and federal specifications. Funds were never appropriated to rebuild the bridge, but it was subsequently incorporated into US Highway 183. In 1960, the route of the highway was moved a short distance to the east, and the 1909 bridge was closed to public traffic. It was subsequently acquired by the Middle Loup Irrigation District and, as of 1992, it provided non-public access to its diversion dam. As of 1992, the east web of the north truss had broken, but the bridge was still structurally sound.
The bridge is considered historically significant because it is one of only a few multiple-span steel truss bridges constructed in the early 20th century that still exist in Nebraska.