The Ashtabula lift bridge (also known as the West Fifth Street bridge) is a

Strauss Strauss, Strauß or Straus is a common Germanic surname. Outside Germany and Austria ''Strauß'' is always spelled ''Strauss'' (the letter " ß" is not used in the German-speaking part of Switzerland). In classical music, "Strauss" usually re ...

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- o ...

that carries

Ohio State Route 531 State Route 531 (SR 531) is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of Ohio. The western terminus of State Route 531 is at the northern terminus of State Route 534 in Geneva-on-the-Lake, at a curve along Lake Road. The route's ea ...

over the

Ashtabula River The Ashtabula River is a river located northeast of Cleveland in Ohio. The river flows into Lake Erie at the city of Ashtabula, Ohio. It is in length and drains . Name ''Ashtabula'' derives from Lenape language ''ashte-pihële'', 'always enough ...

in the harbor of

Ashtabula, Ohio Ashtabula ( ) is a city in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States, and the center of the Ashtabula micropolitan area. It is located at the mouth of the Ashtabula River on Lake Erie, northeast of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city ha ...

. Besides its importance as a major transportation route in Ashtabula, the bridge occupies a crucial location in the city's

built environment The term built environment refers to human-made conditions and is often used in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, public health, sociology, and anthropology, among others. These curated spaces provide the setting for human a ...

; the

Ashtabula Harbour Commercial District The Ashtabula Harbour Commercial District is a historic district in the northern section of the city of Ashtabula, Ohio, United States. Comprising a commercial section near the city's Lake Erie waterfront, the district includes buildings const ...

terminates at the bridge's western end.

History

A river crossing had been at the bridge's site long before it was constructed. In 1889, a 19th-century

pontoon bridge A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, uses floats or shallow-draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maximum load that they can carry. ...

on the site was replaced by a

through truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

, which permitted river access because it was a

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...

. In 1925, the bridge was constructed by a Cleveland firm, Wendell P. Brown, for $179,000. The lifting action depends on electric motors and a massive concrete

counterweight A counterweight is a weight that, by applying an opposite force, provides balance and stability of a mechanical system. The purpose of a counterweight is to make lifting the load faster and more efficient, which saves energy and causes less wea ...

. It is one of only two of its type that remain in service in the state of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

,David Borsvold, (2003
''Ashtabula''
Arcadia Publishing, 18. and the only one extant in the state highway system.Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 1.

St. Clair Shores St. Clair Shores is a suburban city bordering Lake St. Clair in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms a part of the Metro Detroit area, and is located about northeast of downtown Detroit. Its population was 59,715 at the 2010 ...

: Somerset, 1999, 36. In 1985, the bridge was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. In 1986, the bridge was restored. From March 2008 through May 2009, the bridge was closed for repairs and repainting.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashtabula Lift Bridge Ashtabula, Ohio Bascule bridges in the United States Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Buildings and structures in Ashtabula County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Ashtabula County, Ohio Transportation in Ashtabula County, Ohio Drawbridges on the National Register of Historic Places

History

See also

References