After being washed away by ice and high water Saturday, portions of the Green Mill Bridge have been located. Sections of the bridge deck were observed in multiple locations Monday by a pilot with the Iowa State Patrol. The wood structures were carried a considerable distance and found in trees in remote areas of the Cedar River.
“We have been searching for the bridge since Saturday evening when reports of the bridge being washed away were received. Initial searches were shore searches and with a drone,” Kip Ladage – Bremer County Emergency Management Coordinator explained. “That some of the bridge moved so far illustrates the power and the danger of flood water. When river levels recede, we expect to find more of the bridge,” Ladage added.
The Green Mill Bridge, a bowstring arch-truss style bridge, originally carried traffic over the Cedar River in Waverly. After construction of a new bridge in Waverly, two of the spans were placed over the Cedar River northeast of Janesville in 1902. The Green Mill Bridge was closed to traffic in 1986.