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Bridge, Blue Star Highway - digital images

Photograph
Images of the construction in 1937 of the new bridge across the Kalamazoo River and various improvements made over the years.
New_bridge.jpg 499KB
1982 Bridge Dedication.jpg 3.8MB; DeForest A. Doerner, Ralph Cartwright, Carl E. Wicks, Williams & Works 89-1-209_Bridge_1937.jpg 1.4MB CarsonNewBridge.jpg 1.3MB Bridge + dredge 1936.jpg 1.2MB; https://sdhistoricalsociety.org/Newsletter/2011/nov11/nov11_newsletter.htm The Bridge and The Bridges by Jack Sheridan I often think of this photo as I drive from Saugatuck to Douglas over this causeway, looking out on the river and down on the turtle pond and condos perched on what was once the road. The sandsucker in the photo lying out on the water was a monster machine that sucked silt off the river bottom and pumped it through floating pipe to create much of the fill you see. The structures on the right are the Twin Gables Hotel – still with us today. Seventy five years later, now we drive on top of the causeway and sit on it while awaiting the green light to cross on the single lane to Douglas due to the bridge rebuilding. A good time to remember the history. Depending on how you define bridges there have been a number of them between Saugatuck and Douglas. The first was located in Saugatuck where the chain ferry crosses now. The next was fifty yards north of where it is today and of course the present freeway bridge to the southeast. The photo was taken in the summer of 1936 and at that time this causeway was the biggest fill project in the whole State. The new bridge was under construction to the left and not visible in this photo. The bridge and causeway replaced the 1901 bridge that was actually two bridges. On the Saugatuck side and visible in this photo is a steel truss bridge. Small boats could pass beneath it but the water was probably shallow. Then there was a causeway of maybe a hundred yards leading to the main bridge which was a swing bridge over the deep channel. It was about seventy feet in length and pivoted on a piling in the middle of the channel. It was opened with a geared lever powered by an attendant who lived in a house next to the bridge. HM213BS_Bridge1936.jpg 1.1MB aa79BlueStarBridge.jpg 684KB Bridge construction 1936tu.jpg 652KB Bridge construction 1936.jpg 545KB Bridge2007a.jpg 1.1MB bridge2007d.jpg 864KB bridge2007b.jpg 1.2MB

2023.10.29

Digital scan

Doerner, DeForest "Cap" 1914-1989Cartwright, Ralph N. 1921-2002Wicks, Carl Edgar (1921-2010)Williams & WorksBridge, Blue Star Highway 1936

Transportation: bridges

Winthers, Sally

Digital data in CatalogIt

These image(s) were copied from the SDHC photo blog [or the Jack Sheridan drive if that was a superior version] in preparation for updating the SDHC website in 2023. The location of an original or printed version of these photos was unknown at the time of cataloging.

04/01/2023

03/30/2024