Many of us give little thought to zipping across the Republican River several times a day. We have grown accustomed to easily crossing the river on wide, substantial bridges, but that hasn’t always been the case.
A narrow Webber Road bridge was nearly the undoing of the gang which robbed the Security National Bank Nov. 22, 1934. After gathering up their loot, gang members took hostages and left Superior at a high rate of speed. An eyewitness report said all four wheels of the get-away-car were off the ground as the robbers soared over the Missouri Pacific Railroad crossing near the intersection of Bloom and Conn streets. Their hasty retreat was blocked by a farmer slowly crossing the river with his tractor. It must have been highly frustrating for the robbers who had to stop and wait for the tractor to clear the one-lane bridge. It was a fortunate delay for the hostages, for they were released unharmed at the bridge and were only a short way from town.
Early Beaver precinct settlers recognized the need for a bridge before the founding of Superior. A special election was held in 1874 to approve the issuance of $10,000 in bonds for the purpose of constructing a river bridge. The measure passed with nine votes for and six votes against. The bonds pay interest at the rate of 10 percent.
The bridge was built and the area began to prosper. The town of Superior was platted in 1875, the same year the bridge opened.
With a way across the river, Jewell County settlers streamed north to the nearest railhead which was at Edgar. On their way, many visited the Superior stores that opened after the platting of the town.
The first bridge was apparently located a short way upstream from the current Webber bridge. When I was a youngster the remains of an earlier bridge were still visible in that area but I suspect those remains came from a later bridge that failed in the 1935 flood.
As the area developed, bridges were built upstream from the dam located west of the town and apparently upstream from the current location. I remember stories told by an early resident who claimed on his first visit to Superior he had to ford the river. Judging from his age, I suspect this was necessary because a flood had taken out a bridge.
Apparently the community was proud of the three-span overhead truss bridge which appears to be of steel and wood construction. It was built west of town and in my collection of picture postcards, I have four postcards which picture that bridge. Only one of the cards is a duplicate.
The bridge was destroyed by the 1915 flood. Wood and steel were the common bridge building materials of that time, but the replacement bridge was built with a new plan that employed concrete. Surely pictures were taken of the new bridge but I have never seen one.
I suspect it was a larger scale version of the current pony truss bridge now being used where Superior’s Fourth Street crosses Lost Creek and enters Lincoln Park. It may have been similar to the concrete bridge that in college years I drove over at Wamego, Kansas.
The lead story in the May 7, 1931, issue of The Superior Express reported, “Cement bridge on Highway 14 is victim of flood. Structure erected in 1915 goes out Tuesday night when Republican River assumes torrential proportions.
“Heavy rains descending along the Republican basin west of Superior Monday night, transformed the river into a veritable torrent Tuesday morning, causing a higher overflow here than has been known since 1915. On both sides of the stream, tremendous tracts of farm land were submerged under water. Considerable property damage is believed to have been done in the way of soil wash-out, flooding of low areas and washing out fences, etc.
“The largest single item of destruction in the immediate locality, was the washing out of the concrete bridge on Highway 14 southwest of the city and but a few yards above the Southern Nebraska Power Company dam. This wash-out is lamentable not only because of the monetary value of the bridge but because it eliminated the principal avenue of travel to the south and southwest. Steps are already being taken to perfect a satisfactory temporary road into this territory.
“The concrete bridge was constructed in 1915, when floods took out the old bridge. While it was one of the most imposing structures of its kind in the territory, local men had told the contractors when it was being built that the pilings were not being sunk deep enough.”
They must has skimped on the pilings for I suspect the shale layer which builders now consider to be bedrock was within 30-feet of the river bottom. The builders apparently ignored the Bible warning about building on shifting sand. Had they sunk the pilings down to bedrock, the bridge may have been serviceable for many years.
Less than 7 years after the bridge opened, it was severely damaged when the dam washed out. When the dam washed out in 1923, the effect on the bridge was apparent. From that time on it was considered unsafe for heavy traffic.
When driftwood began pounding against the pilings early Tuesday morning, it was freely prophesied the bridge would give way. By mid-afternoon it was creaking and shortly after 7 p.m. it gave way and three spans collapsed.
He wasn’t sure but my Grandfather Blauvelt suspected he was the last person to cross the bridge.
After the collapse, local residents hoped a temporary span could be built between the approaches of the failed bridge which would take care of the lighter traffic until a new structure could be erected.
Two “temporary” bridges were to replace the failed concrete bridge. The first was a floating pontoon bridge.
A “temporary” concrete and steel bridge was to serve into the 1980s. People who had seen both bridges said the replacement bridge was both shorter and narrower than the concrete bridge. When it was built, road construction funds were being stretched tight because of the Great Depression and accompanying drought. At that time the state highway department was considering a realignment of the highway and the construction of an overpass over the busy Missouri Pacific and Burlington railroad tracts.
However, before the highway plans became a reality, rail traffic declined. Rail traffic is now on the upswing but we aren’t aware of renewed plans for an overpass.
I hope to share additional stories about the west river crossing in a future notebook entry.
Reader Comments(0)