View source for Black Squirrel Creek Bridge

{{Infobox bridge
| bridge_name      = Black Squirrel Creek Bridge
| native_name      = 
| native_name_lang = 
| image            = Black Squirrel Creek Bridge.jpg
| image_size       = 
| alt              = 
| caption          = Bridge in 2008
| official_name    = 
| other_name       = 
| carries          = {{Jct|state=CO|US|24}}
| crosses          = 
| locale           = Between [[Falcon, Colorado|Falcon]] and [[Peyton, Colorado]]<ref name=gazJun11/><br /><small>U.S. 24 milepost 327.33</small>{{sfn|Fraser|2002|p=1}}
| owner            = 
| maint            = 
| id               = 
| website          = 
| architect        = 
| designer         = 
| engineering      = 
| winner           = 
| contracted_designer = 
| design           = [[Truss bridge]]
| material         = 
| length           = {{convert|226|ft|m}}{{sfn|Fraser|2002|p=5}}
| width            = {{convert|31.1|ft|m}} <small>(structure)</small><br />{{convert|30|ft|m}} <small>(roadway)</small>{{sfn|Fraser|2002|p=5}}
| height           = 
| mainspan         = {{convert|150|ft|m}}{{sfn|Fraser|2002|p=5}}
| spans            = 
| pierswater       = 
| load             = 
| clearance        = 
| below            = 
| life             = 
| builder          = Charles B. Owen<br />A. S. Horner
| fabricator       = Minneapolis-Moline Power Implement Company
| begin            = 
| complete         = 1935
| cost             = 
| open             = 
| inaugurated      = 
| toll             = 
| traffic          = 6500–8500 <small>(circa 2011)</small><ref name=gazJun11/>
| preceded         = 
| followed         = 
| heritage         = 
| collapsed        = 
| closed           = 2012
| replaces         = 
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| extra            = 
{{Infobox NRHP
  | name = Black Squirrel Creek Bridge
  | nrhp_type = 
  | designated_other1 = Colorado
  | designated_other1_date = 
  | designated_other1_number = 5EP.3561<ref name=hc>{{cite web|title=Listings by County: El Paso County|url=http://www.historycolorado.org/oahp/el-paso-county|publisher=[[History Colorado]]|access-date=December 4, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204025254/http://www.historycolorado.org/oahp/el-paso-county|archive-date=December 4, 2013}}</ref>
  | designated_other1_num_position = bottom
  | image = 
  | caption = 
  | location = 
  | locmapin = Colorado#USA
  | nearest_city = 
  | coordinates = {{coord|39|00|15|N|104|30|47|W|display=inline,title}}
| area =
  | built = 
  | architect = [[Colorado Department of Highways]]
  | architecture = 
  | added = October 15, 2002
  | refnum = 02001158<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a|dateform=mdy}}</ref>
  | mpsub = [http://www.coloradodot.info/programs/environmental/archaeology-and-history/co-highway-bridges/highway-bridges-of-colorado-multiple-property.pdf Highway Bridges of Colorado MPS]
  | governing_body = 
  | embed = yes
}}
| references       = 
}}
The '''Black Squirrel Creek Bridge''' carries [[U.S. Route 24 in Colorado|U.S. 24]] over [[Black Squirrel Creek (eastern El Paso County)|Black Squirrel Creek]] in [[El Paso County, Colorado]].  Prior to 2012, it was locally known as the "green bridge"<ref name=gazJun11>{{cite news|last=Kelley|first=Debbie|title=Historically significant bridge may be destroyed|url=http://gazette.com/historically-significant-bridge-may-be-destroyed/article/120271|access-date=December 5, 2013|newspaper=[[The Gazette (Colorado Springs)|The Gazette]]|date=June 22, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205002903/http://gazette.com/historically-significant-bridge-may-be-destroyed/article/120271|archive-date=December 5, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> or "old green bridge"<ref name=csindy/>—a historic single-span, [[Parker truss|Parker through truss]] bridge that was completed in 1935 and listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 2002. Because it no longer met highway safety standards, the bridge was dismantled and replaced by a newer span in 2012.

==History==
In the 1930s, the road in El Paso County (which would become U.S. 24) underwent major reconstruction, including the addition of several new bridges. The bridge at Black Squirrel Creek was contracted to Charles B. Owen and A. S. Horner. The truss was built by the Minneapolis-Moline Power Implement Company, and construction of the bridge was complete in 1935.{{sfn|Fraser|2002|p=6}} The bridge's concrete abutments are hollow, each with a pair of barred "windows". According to a bridge foreman for El Paso County, the "windows" allowed the removal of [[formwork]] once they cured, and the bars were put in place to keep people out.<ref name=falcon/> However, the barred "windows" led to tales of uncertain authenticity that a [[chain gang]] or German prisoners of World War II were locked up in the abutments, which resemble prison cells.<ref name=csindy/><ref name=falcon/>

The bridge was nominated for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places for its significance in transportation and engineering under [[NRHP#Criteria|Criteria A and C]], respectively.{{sfn|Fraser|2002|p=6}} At the time of its nomination in 2002, the Black Squirrel Creek Bridge was one of eight Parker through trusses to survive in use on Colorado's highways.{{sfn|Fraser|2002|p=7}} The bridge was listed on the National Register on October 15, 2002.<ref>{{cite web|title=Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 10/14/02 Through 10/18/02|url=http://www.nps.gov/nr/listings/20021025.htm|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=December 5, 2013}}</ref>

In 2008, twelve state-owned bridges in the county, including the Black Squirrel Creek Bridge, were rated in "poor" condition for failing to meet modern safety standards.<ref name=gazJun11/> The shoulders were only {{convert|2|ft|m}} wide and the vertical clearance of {{convert|15|ft|m}} was {{convert|9|in|cm}} short of the then-current minimum, making the bridge potentially hazardous.<ref name=csindy>{{cite news|last=Zubeck|first=Pam|title=A bridge too far?|url=http://www.csindy.com/coloradosprings/a-bridge-too-far/Content?oid=2359641|access-date=December 5, 2013|newspaper=[[Colorado Springs Independent]]|date=August 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205002855/http://www.csindy.com/coloradosprings/a-bridge-too-far/Content?oid=2359641|archive-date=December 5, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> As part of [[Colorado Department of Transportation|CDOT]]'s Adopt-A-Bridge program, the agency would have dismantled the bridge and given it to a group willing to take the structure, for such purpose as a pedestrian or bicycle route.<ref name=gazJun11/><ref name=gazOct11>{{cite news|last=Kelley|first=Debbie|title=Historic 'green bridge' a few months away from demolition|url=http://gazette.com/historic-green-bridge-a-few-months-away-from-demolition/article/126246|access-date=December 5, 2013|newspaper=[[The Gazette (Colorado Springs)|The Gazette]]|date=October 5, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205002622/http://gazette.com/historic-green-bridge-a-few-months-away-from-demolition/article/126246|archive-date=December 5, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> A county engineer said of the bridge in 2011 that "we have no use for a structure like that — it's obsolete... All you could do is some type of display, and the cost doesn't seem to justify the benefit."<ref name=gazJun11/>

Since no one took the offer of the bridge, a replacement project began in November 2011, estimated to last about one year.<ref name=gazOct11/><ref name=cdot>{{cite web|title=US 24 over Black Squirrel Creek west of Peyton|url=http://www.coloradodot.info/programs/BridgeEnterprise/poor-bridges-map-2/US24overBlackSquirrelCreek|publisher=Colorado Department of Transportation|access-date=December 5, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023091208/http://www.coloradodot.info/programs/BridgeEnterprise/poor-bridges-map-2/US24overBlackSquirrelCreek|archive-date=October 23, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> A two-lane paved detour bridge was first built to bypass the bridge.<ref name=falcon>{{cite journal|last=Wallace|first=Kathleen|title=The saga of the Green Bridge|journal=The New Falcon Herald|date=October 2011|volume=8|issue=10|url=http://www.newfalconherald.com/Articles/DisplayArchiveArticle.php?ArticleID=7304|access-date=December 6, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206031701/http://www.newfalconherald.com/Articles/DisplayArchiveArticle.php?ArticleID=7304|archive-date=December 6, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=gazOct11/> Traffic continued to flow on the bridge until the detour opened in January 2012. Crews then proceeded to remove the old span, build its replacement, repave, build new guardrails, and add seed and mulch.<ref>{{cite web|title=Highway 24 Bridge Project Begins|url=http://www.coloradodot.info/news/2012-news-releases/01-2012/highway-24-bridge-project-begins|publisher=Colorado Department of Transportation|access-date=December 5, 2013|date=January 9, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205003039/http://www.coloradodot.info/news/2012-news-releases/01-2012/highway-24-bridge-project-begins|archive-date=December 5, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> The project finished in August 2012 at a cost of about $3.5 million.<ref name=cdot/> The new bridge has a low profile, and the design incorporated the 1934 plaque from the original structure.<ref name=falcon/>

==Design==
The bridge was a standard truss design by the [[Colorado Department of Transportation|Colorado Highway Department]], several of which were built from 1922 to 1945.{{sfn|Fraser|2002|p=7}} The single span was a {{convert|150|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} Parker through truss, subdivided into eight panels.{{sfn|Fraser|2002|p=5}}{{sfn|Fraser|2002|p=7}} The bridge was supported at the four corners on cast steel bearing shoes, with one end fixed and the other able to rock. These were bolted to large concrete abutments with an "unusual" U-shaped wingwall design.{{sfn|Fraser|2002|p=7}}

==See also==
* {{Portal-inline|Transport}}
* {{Portal-inline|Engineering}}
* {{Portal-inline|Colorado}}
* {{Portal-inline|National Register of Historic Places}}
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in El Paso County, Colorado]]
* [[List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado]]
* [[List of Colorado Department of Highways bridges on the National Register of Historic Places]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
*{{cite journal |last=Fraser |first=Clay |date=October 15, 2002 |journal=National Register of Historic Places |title=NRHP Nomination: Black Squirrel Creek Bridge |publisher=National Park Service |url={{NRHP url|id=02001158}}}} ''See also:'' {{NRHP url|id=02001158|title=accompanying two photos|photos=y}}

[[Category:Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System]]
[[Category:Transportation buildings and structures in El Paso County, Colorado]]
[[Category:Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1935]]
[[Category:U.S. Route 24]]
[[Category:Demolished bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 2012]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in El Paso County, Colorado]]
[[Category:Metal bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:Parker truss bridges in the United States]]