William S. Hewett was a major bridge contractor in the Minneapolis area from the 1890s until well into the 20th century. His firm designed and built a number of bridges for the Twin City Rapid Transit Company when it was electrifying and expanding its system around the turn of the 20th century.

Reinforced concrete bridges

Bridges built by Hewett's firm used included some of the earliest

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

bridges built using the Melan system invented by Viennese engineer

Josef Melan Josef Melan (1854–1941) was an Austrian engineer. He is regarded as one of the most important pioneers of reinforced concrete bridge-building at the end of the 19th century. Josef Melan is credited as the inventor of the ''Melan System'', a me ...

and patented in the United States in 1894. Hewett probably became familiar with the Melan system when working with his uncle's construction firm in northwest Iowa. Hewett's firm also designed

Bridges No. L-5853 and 92247 Bridges No. L-5853 and 92247 are two side-by-side bridges in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. They were built in 1904 over the Como-Harriet streetcar line, connecting the nearby Twin City Rapid Transit Company station to the line running wes ...

Como Park The Como Park Zoo and Marjorie McNeely Conservatory (or just Como Zoo and Conservatory) are located in Como Park at 1225 Estabrook Drive, Saint Paul, Minnesota. The park, zoo and conservatory are owned by the City of Saint Paul and are a divisio ...

in Saint Paul, Minnesota. These two bridges also crossed the Twin City Rapid Transit line. Hewett performed other pioneering work with

and prestressed concrete. In 1907, he formed the Security Bridge Company, and he established Hewett Systems in 1913. Hewett also built the reinforced concrete Washburn Water Tower in Minneapolis.

Other bridges

Other bridges built by Hewett include: *

Bridge No. 1482 A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

, Luverne, Minnesota (1908) *

Colton's Crossing Bridge The Colton's Crossing Bridge, in Ransom County, North Dakota near Lisbon, North Dakota, also known as Sheyenne River Bridge, was built in 1907. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1997. According to its NRHP nomin ...

, Lisbon, North Dakota (1907) * Forsyth Bridge, Forsyth, Montana (1905) *

Interlachen Bridge The Interlachen Bridge is a reinforced concrete arch bridge on William Berry Parkway between Bde Maka Ska and Lake Harriet in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The bridge crosses the Como-Harriet Streetcar Line, a heritage streetcar line operated by the ...

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

(1900) * Joliet Bridge,

Joliet, Montana Joliet is a town in Carbon County, Montana, United States. It is part of the Billings, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 577 at the 2020 census. History The construction of the Rocky Fork & Cooke City Railway in 1892 ...

(1901) *

Melan Bridge The Melan Bridge is located in Emma Sater Park on the east side of Rock Rapids, Iowa, United States. The structure is believed to be the third reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and fer ...

Rock Ridge, Iowa Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wa ...

(1893) *

Old Yankton Bridge Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...

, Sioux Falls, South Dakota (1895) * South Dakota Dept. of Transportation Bridge No. 25-380-142, Zell, South Dakota (1902) * Walnut Street Bridge, Mazeppa, Minnesota (1904)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewett, William American bridge engineers American construction businesspeople Concrete pioneers Businesspeople from Minneapolis Year of death missing Year of birth missing People from Knox County, Maine