Route 66 in the News
Seeking Funds to Save Old Route 66 Bridge
2008-05-02 09:23:27
DEVIL'S ELBOW, Mo. - Pulaski County Commissioner Bill Farnham has made restoration of the Devil’s Elbow Bridge on the original path of Route 66 one of his highest-profile projects, and told commissioners Thursday morning that he’d like to authorize grant writers to begin efforts to obtain another $400,000 grant.
The complete Devil’s Elbow project will cost $1.6 million and county officials so far have been able to piece together $1.1 million worth of grants. Farnham said he’s spoken to Kelly Sink-Blair with the Meramec Regional Planning Commission who believes the residents of the Devil’s Elbow area may have low enough income that the area would qualify for a Community Development Block Grant.
Farnham said he plans to speak with the Devil’s Elbow postmaster to obtain a list of addresses of residents who could be polled on their household income in preparation for a grant application. The cost of the bridge work is so high because of lead paint and other factors, Farnham said, and the painting and scraping portion of the project costs $580,000 by itself because it’s important to use special procedures to prevent the paint from going into the river underneath the bridge.
Presiding Commissioner Bill Ransdall asked if the Devil’s Elbow Bridge is an “all-or-nothing” project or if some of the money could be used to make the bridge structurally sound. Farnham said it may be possible to get started on some of the other work but the county needs to retain an engineer to verify that. Divers have already confirmed the basic structural integrity of the bridge beneath the water line, Farnham said.
Route 66 took different paths during its many decades of history as the main road between Chicago and Los Angeles. In Pulaski County the road originally went through the small town of Devil’s Elbow until state road engineers made what’s known as the “Hooker Cut” to slice through a large hill and rebuild Route 66 as a four-lane highway along what’s now Highway Z. The older road alignment was turned over to Pulaski County and lack of funds has left what’s now called Teardrop Road in poor condition.
The bridge has deteriorated to the point that it can no longer be used by heavy traffic such as tour buses. That lack of funds is a mixed blessing that has preserved a historic bridge.
“There are very few bridges of that era left; so many of them have been torn down and replaced,” Farnham said.
Farnham said he’s also considering grants that would require redesignation of the bridge as a one-lane bridge with a bike trail alongside the traffic lane since the bridge is already narrower than would be considered proper for modern two-way traffic. That could help reach the needed $1.6 million in road funds, he said.
~Darrell Todd Maurina, WaynesvilleDailyGuide.com
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