From the Oskaloosa Independent, June 6, 1930
Oscar Ross and John McNish, county road men, narrowly escaped
serious injury Tuesday morning, when a county ten-ton Caterpillar tractor and
attached road grader crashed through the Buck Creek bridge south of Oskaloosa
four and a half miles.
 |
| Buck Creek |
Ross was driving the tractor, and McNish was on the grader
as they crossed the bridge. Near the middle of the 50-foot span the tractor
suddenly smashed though the bridge, landing with the bridge floor in the bottom
on the stream, 12 feet below.
The bridge approaches buckled into the air as the tractor
went down and the grader wheels caught on the edge, keeping the grader from
turning over onto the tractor, and undoubtedly saving both men from injury or
death.
The bridge is 80 feet long, with 50-foot span and 15-foot
approaches. County road and bridge men were called and by three o’clock Tuesday
afternoon, the tractor and grader had been brought out of the stream,
practically undamaged. The bridge was torn down, ready for a new structure,
which will be put in at once.
This story appeared in “Yesteryears” in April 2002.
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