The structure you see here at one time carried US 60 across the Arkansas River from Osage county into Kay county and the eastern edge of Ponca City until the early 1950's, when a through K-truss bridge was built where the present US 60 bridge is now. The history of this bridge is rather interesting. Built in 1911 by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co., of Leavenworth, Kansas, the bridge was, until the 1930's a 7-span structure consisting of six through Pratt spans, and one Parker pony truss, as the photo below shows. All spans were of riveted construction.
Then, sometime in the 1930's the bridge washed out, leaving only the western most Pratt span, which had still been in service until 2004, when the whole bridge was demolished. The remains of the collapsed bridge were still in the water when we last visited the old bridge in 2003. Black-and-white photos courtesy of Oklahoma State University Library Special Collections.
Above, looking west, you can see the riveted Pratt span still standing. No record exists for where the three big pin-connected Parker spans came from, but data for the bridge was altered to reflect their original construction date of 1920.
Each of the pin-connected Parker spans is about 190 long. The deck is wood with an asphalt overlay. The weight limit is 3 tons. This bridge sees rather heavy traffic and is in bad shape.
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