Traer Street Bridge, Spanning Shell Rock River at Traer Street, Greene, Butler County, IA

Significance: The Traer Street bridge at Greene, Iowa, is a single-span Pennsylvania (Petit) through truss erected 1902-1903. Its very light design was consistent with the limited requirements of small-town vehicular traffic at the turn of the century, but its length (almost 250 feet) was somewhat unusual for single-span bridges built in rural Iowa at this time. The bridge was designed, fabricated and built by the Clinton Bridge & Iron Works of Clinton, Iowa, the state's largest and most enduring bridge firm; and was one of many truss bridges erected by the firm in Iowa and western Illinois during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The bridge, and its two predecessors as well, served an important role in Greene's economy. They opened the town, with its grain elevators, to farmers south and west of the Shell Rock River, thus giving the town access to a market area much larger than would have been the case had no bridge existed at this place.
Survey number: HAER IA-9
Building/structure dates: 1903 Initial Construction