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The Midland Bridge, which spanned the White River in Noblesville for 130 years, will be stored at Conner Prairie once it is removed and disassembled to make way for the city’s Pleasant Street project.
The city announced Tuesday that construction crews are working to disassemble, inspect and catalog the Midland Bridge in consultation with Indiana’s State Historic Preservation Office and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Once work is complete at the site, the bridge will be transported to Conner Prairie for storage. Eventually, the bridge will be refurbished and reassembled, but a final destination has not been determined.
“Conner Prairie was a logical choice for storage as it is a special place dedicated to history,” Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen said in written remarks. “Not only is it in Hamilton County, but it will provide an up-close opportunity to see a historic railroad bridge.”
The Midland Bridge was constructed in 1893 by the Union Bridge Co. of Buffalo, New York, and Athens, Pennsylvania.
The two-span steel through truss bridge crossed over the White River west of downtown Noblesville and was used by the Central Indiana Railway Co.
Noblesville is in the early stages of work on the $113 million Pleasant Street project, dubbed Reimagine Pleasant Street, that will create an east-west connector and help ease traffic in the city’s downtown.
City officials held a groundbreaking in November 2022 on a new $15.5 million bridge that will cross the river. It is expected to be complete by the end of 2024.
The first phase of the Pleasant Street project is from River Road to 10th Street, while the second phase will be from 10th to 19th streets and the third will be west of the river to Hague Road.
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