June 17, 2022: The slab edge on the north rail of the Lincoln Highway bridge (under the letters) shows severe wear and is one of the areas slated to get work done.
The Iowa DOT is playing a role in the restoration of Tama’s Lincoln Highway bridge — not in the work itself, but in getting a contractor.
In March, the city of Tama shifted the third round of bidding from the local to state level (as a federal-aid swap application). The first round came in above expectations (and was invalidated), and the second had no bidders, as a Marshalltown Times-Republican article at the time explained. The need to have major work on the bridge was known eight years ago but it took this long to raise the money. Rehabilitation is included in the Oct. 18 collection of Iowa DOT letting plans.
The documentation picks out specific areas of the bridge, including the “AY” on the south side, for repair. The plans are from the city of Tama and engineering firms Shuck-Britson of Des Moines and Snyder & Associates of Cedar Rapids. If you look at the end of the file, there’s something you might not expect: A reproduction of the original construction document shows a concrete bridge without “Lincoln Highway” spelled out in the railings. I have not been able to find any specific mention of the letters being incorporated into the design in newspapers of the time.