What's New
The Associated General Contractors of Iowa and the Iowa Department of Transportation recently announced the winners of their Iowa Quality Initiative Structures Awards program. The awards program recognizes those structures built in Iowa that demonstrated superior quality of workmanship in their construction and design. The new US 169 bridge over the East Fork Des Moines River in Algona was honored with an award for “Concrete Beam Bridge on Primary Road System”. The award submission was a collaboration of WHKS, the design engineer, Christensen Bros. of Cherokee (prime contractor) and the Iowa DOT, who is the owner of the structure.
The Iowa DOT retained the services of WHKS to design a replacement for the old steel girder bridge. The structure was originally constructed in 1954 and was in poor condition due to fatigue cracks, rusting and other flaws in the steel girders. The concrete bridge deck was showing signs of deterioration and the bridge was only marginally capable of carrying legal loads.
The replacement bridge is a 364’-0” x 54’-0” span carrying US 169 over the East Fork Des Moines River. The bridge consists of three (3) equal spans (121’-0”, 122’-0”, 121’-0”), two hammerhead T–piers and two integral abutments, all supported on driven piles. In addition to improving the safety and longevity of the structure, the width of the bridge was increased to meet current Iowa DOT standards to ensure better traffic flow. ADA-compliant sidewalks were provided on both sides of the new bridge to offer safety to pedestrians and bicyclists and scenic river views to residents and visitors alike.
Aesthetics were extensively incorporated into the design to enhance the visual impact and appeal of the bridge to the surrounding community. The aesthetic “Streamliner locomotive theme” of the bridge was provided by the Iowa DOT Office of Bridges and Structures. Of the three aesthetic bridge design theme options presented to a group of Algona city officials by the Iowa DOT, the Streamliner Bridge concept was the hands-down favorite. The city already had a strong association with its railroad heritage, and its slogan, “Algona - On the Right Track”, capitalizes on rail imagery. The aesthetic components of the project will provide the bridge with lasting value and a timeless theme that enhances the visual impact and appeal of the bridge to visitors and the community.
Completed US 169 Bridge in Algona, Iowa