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| The Smith Rapids Bridge in Price County, WI. 7/31/2020 dwm photo |
My goal is to finish a video on the covered bridges I've visited in the upper Midwest. There are 123 on my list and I was missing four, including one in north Wisconsin.
Two of the remaining three are re-creations of bridges burned down in Michigan and Indiana while the third is in southern Illinois near the Mississippi River below St. Louis.
The Wisconsin bridge is in the middle of the Chequamegon (pronounced Sha-wha-ma-gone) National Forest.
It was built in 1991 and won a prize a year later as the outstanding engineering project in the state.
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| The open diamond walls create a neat effect. 7/31/2020 dwm photo |
It's 94 feet long with a 76 foot span across the South Fork of the Flambeau River. It uses a Town Lattice truss design similar to the Springwater Volunteer bridge near Wild Rose.
The unique feature of the bridge is that it's glue-laminated. Instead of a massive beam formed from one log, laminated beams bond multiple boards together.
Ithiel Town is credited with designing the truss he patented in the 1820s. It looks especially nice on bridges like this with open sides which display the diamond pattern down the length of each bridge.
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| The bridge crosses the South Fork of the Flambeau River. 7/31/20 (dwm) |
My directions were simple and clear with only three turns once I reached the highway. Left to go north, left to go west, and right to head north the final few miles to the bridge - it takes four hours to get there.
Minoqua is where we turned west. 25 miles later, we followed a gravel road through the forest to the bridge.
It's surrounded by trees, blending into the landscape. A small parking lot near the bridge allows visitors to get out and walk around.
Tall grass, leafy trees, and bushes crowd the river bank with no obvious open place to get a clear look of the bridge. Trails take you to the water under the bridge, but only one path offered any hope to get downstream.
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| Smith Rapids are past the bend. 7/31/20 (dwm) |
Cautiously, I made my way along the bank trying to stay dry in the six-foot tall grass and find a good angle to get the shot (above left).
Smith Rapids is the name of turbulent and fast-moving water just west of the bridge (photo right). The closest town is Fifield, 14 miles west on State Road 70.
We picked a perfect day for the trip as it was sunny with fluffy clouds dotting the sky and comfortable temperatures. It was a fun road trip. Because of COVID-19, we were careful, limiting stops and wearing masks any time we stopped.
It's a beautiful bridge in a pretty place. While it's nearly 30 years old, the design has been effective for 200 years making this new, old bridge a nice one to include in my covered bridge collection.
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