The falling bridges of Madison County

Madison County, Iowa's bridges are aging and in poor condition, with 85 requiring rehabilitation and 59 needing replacement at an estimated cost of $4.5 million, though the famous covered bridges are relatively well-maintained and mostly restricted to pedestrian use.

When I was processing 1994 National Bridge Inventory data recently, I began to wonder how the bridges of Madison County stack up. As it turned out, the county's trestles have seen better days. A few quick queries revealed that according to federal inspectors, 85 of the bridges in Madison County, Iowa, require rehabilitation, and 59 require outright replacement. Federal inspectors estimated the county's bridges could use $4.5 million in work.

Iowa engineers said the covered bridges of Robert James Waller fame actually are in good shape. General decay and drivers' affinity for crashing into the bridge walls resulted in the renovation and closure of most bridges years ago. Today, all but one of the covered spans is open only to pedestrians; admirers must cross less romantic metal bridges to reach the sites. The data provided generous detail for the story, everything from the age of the oldest bridge (115 years) to the types of problems the bridges suffered from (slumping embankments, disintegrating culverts).

The story ran in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Aug. 20.