County: Calhoun
City/Township: Marshall
Location: Marshall Ave. /Rice Creek
Year Built: 1899
About this Bridge:
The Marshall Avenue Bridge is eligible for the National Register as an example of a stone masonry-arch bridge, a structural type that is extemely rare in Michigan.
Despite an abundance of stone in various forms throughout the state and an indigenous tradition of masonry construction, bridges were rarely built of stone in Michigan. Only a handful of stone masonry spans remain in place today, all of which employ short-span arches that spring from stone sidewalls. Multiple-span stone-arch bridges are particularly unusual.
Very little information is available about the history of the three-span Marshall Avenue Bridge, but the construction date of 1899 provided by bridge inspection reports seems reasonable. It was renovated in 1951. It was apparently at this time that the arch barrels and inside surfaces of the railings were coated with concrete, greatly detracting from the original design. Another renovation in 1996 removed the concrete from the railings, restoring much of the structure's original appearance.
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