Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 85, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 April 1913 — THINK LAFAYETTE BRIDGE IS DOOMED [ARTICLE]

THINK LAFAYETTE BRIDGE IS DOOMED

Purdue Experts Say That Main Street Structure is Almost Sure to Collapse. - The big bridge at Main street, Lafayette, which was badly damaged during the flood and the use of which has been prohibited, is said to be in danger of collapse, and experts from Purdue University who examined jt, state that the piers have been Undermined by the swift flow of water and that the piling has been torn loose. Prof. Albert Smith, the noted bridge expert, made the examination. He says that unless immediate steps are taken to bolster- it up the bridge is quite sure to collapse. The ferry boat is again, in operation. The first day it was operated the cable broke and the boat floated down to the railroad bridge, where it was stopped. A new cable was procured.