New Richmond Swing Bridge
The New Richmond Swing Bridge, also known as the Fifty-Seventh Street Bridge, is a one lane swing bridge in Michigan. Located in Allegan County's Manlius Township, it connected 57th Street with Old Allegan Road over the Kalamazoo River until its closure to vehicular traffic. The name New Richmond comes from a former mining town in the area of the same name. The bridge is one of the oldest - if not the oldest - swing bridges extant in the United States, and is one of the oldest metal truss bridges in the state of Michigan and the state's longest pony truss bridge. History The first bridge to cross the Kalamazoo River at this location was constructed in 1842, as part of a local highway connecting Allegan with the now-defunct village of Singapore. The 1842 wooden drawbridge was replaced in 1856 with a similar structure. In 1877, part of this bridge collapsed into the river, and by late 1878, preparations were being made to tear down the wooden bridge and replace it with an iron one. The Milwaukee Bridge & Iron Company was contracted to build the superstructure of the present bridge, made of iron and with a swinging section to