121.666.3

The Squaw Creek Bridge on Lincoln Way, built in 1908, looking westerly on the south side of the bridge several years before it collapsed during the 1918 flood, probably around 1912. The design of this bridge was selected by the Story County Engineer and the Story County Board of Supervisors at a time when such decisions rested with county officials. They purchased a patented design which was built for several thousand dollars less than the bridge that had been designed by the Iowa Highway Commission. Iowa State College engineering dean Anson Marston who, along with ISC agriculture dean Charles F. Curtiss, had advocated for the creation of the Iowa Highway Commission in 1904, was very opposed to the construction of this cheaper bridge. Its short life proved him to be correct. The bridge had inadequate footings and had one fewer arch than was, according to an engineer, necessary for safety (it had three rather than four).