'Blue Bridge' dedication

Comet photos by Jennifer Archibald

The Stearns truss bridge in Delphi was dedicated in grand style on Sunday with speakers, Carroll County Community Band playing on the bridge, and the driving of a "golden spike" on the newly added deck. Two hundred people attended.

The bridge is part of Delphi's 10-mile trail system and part of the Wabash Heritage Corridor Trail. Now located over the Wabash & Erie Canal, it is the only bridge of its kind in the U.S.

To help celebrate the history of the bridge, built in 1905, a 1903 Winton automobile arrived on site and crossed through the bridge. It will be the last vehicle allowed on the structure. The car is owned by Dr. Peter Kesling of LaPorte and was driven by his son, Adam Kesling. This particular car traveled across the U.S. from coast to coast in 2003 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the nation's first transcontinental crossing by a 1903 Winton.

A relative of the Keslings, Ethel (Betty) Beard Simons, has written a history of the Stearns truss in Delphi, including its move from Pulaski County to Delphi, where it was restored. The history was donated to the local canal museum. Simons is a descendant of the owners of the construction company that built the Stearns truss bridges. The Stearns bridges were purported to be more economical than the Pratt bridges because they used less metal. They were designed to be lightweight and portable.