Cotter Bridge
Facts
- Overview
- Six-span rainbow arch bridge over White River on US 62B at Cotter
- Location
- Cotter, Baxter County, Arkansas, and Marion County, Arkansas
- Status
- Open to two-lane traffic
- History
- Built 1930 by the Marsh Engineering Co. and Bateman Contracting Co.; rehabilitated 2003-04
- Builders
- - Bateman Contracting Co.
- Marsh Engineering Co. of Des Moines, Iowa
- Design
- From west to east:
Nine deck girder approach spans, total length approx. 471 ft.
Five Marsh through arch spans, length of each 216 feet
Three deck girder approach spans, total length 141 feet
One Marsh pony arch over railroad tracks, length 132 feet
One deck girder approach span, length 26 feet - Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 216.0 ft.
Total length: 1,804.6 ft.
Deck width: 23.9 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 25.0 ft.
- Recognition
- Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on April 4, 1990
- Also called
- R.M. Ruthven Bridge (official name)
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +36.26723, -92.54405 (decimal degrees)
36°16'02" N, 92°32'39" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 15/540954/4013685 (zone/easting/northing)
- USGS topographic map
- Cotter
- Inventory numbers
- AHTD 00702 (Arkansas Highway and Transportation Dept. bridge number)
NRHP 90000518 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
AHTD 702 (Arkansas Highway and Transportation Dept. bridge number)
BH 10207 (Bridgehunter.com ID) - Inspection (as of 11/2010)
- Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 51.2 (out of 100) - Average daily traffic (as of 2008)
- 1,100
Update Log
- August 19, 2011: New photo from Lisa Hyde
- September 12, 2008: Updated by David Backlin
- June 1, 2005: Posted new photos from Keith Stephens
Sources
- Keith Stephens - keithstephens [at] cox-internet [dot] com
- AHTD
- HAER AR-15 - Cotter Bridge
- Fred Garcia
- David Backlin - us71 [at] cox [dot] net
- Lisa Hyde
- Wikipedia
Comments
Thank you for the kind words, Gentlemen! It helps having something so beautiful to take a picture of!
That would be the Cotter Railroad Bridge
Amazing bridge!
In the Streetview, I see there is a railroad swing bridge just north of this bridge; the swing span indicates that the White River was navigable at one point. This view points up one of the problems with trying to maintain navigation on a shallow river with a shifting channel - the swing span is currently located over a mid-channel island!
Indeed it is Mr. Vance! I have been impressed with many of Lisa's photos.
I think even Conde B. McCullough would have been impressed with this beautiful span!
The latest picture (#20) is beautiful.
Blueprints for this bridge are online at http://www.arkansashighways.com/historic_bridge/State%20Highway%20Bridge%20Plans/%2800702%29%20Cotter%20Bridge.pdf
Visited this bridge at 4:40 pm on 2 March 2007. Good photos can be taken from both downstream sides. The west bank has a dead end road that loops under the bridge and past several residences. The east bank has a large parking area with boat ramps, pavilion and picnic sites. Good overall pictures from a distance can also be taken at the overlook on Hwy 62. An old gutted restaurant-like building sits right at the west abuttment. The railroad bridge can be photographed best from the overlook and from the east bank park. Bridge looks to be fairly clean & tidy.
Webmaster's note: The photos that were here have been incorporated into the main site.
http://www.cotterar.com/cotterbridgebrochure-marsh.htm
Shows some photos of the bridge under construction.
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/ar/baxter/cotter/