Petit Jean River Bridge

Good question. This was the only bridge of this design that I know of near Booneville. Like I earlier mentioned, there were several of these on Arkansas 22, east to west, in Logan County. Al of them dated late 1920s. Even more of them stretched out to Fort Smith to the wast and Dardanelle to the east. It was a popular & practical design and very strong. Unfortunately, at later dates the bridges were not considered wide enough for modern, more heavy traffic. Still a great bridge for back roads, county roads, farm roads, you name it. Very few of these old bridges on Ark. 22 have photographs that exist. Its a shame and a waste. Arkansas Highway Department would have a lot more information than I've got on this. Every one of these bridges had a different length, but the measuremnts don't match up with what is still being used. YIKES!

So, the question remains: what might Mr. Bowden be recalling?

Since the bridge at this location was removed prior to his birth, based on the reported date on the current bridge and the NBI information, he must be remembering another polygonal Warren from somewhere nearby.

Were there other bridges of this type nearby, where were they, and what became of them?

Short Mountain Creek was the only similar truss in the NIB for this county. Were there others in the '60s, since scrapped or relocated prior to 1990?

Great job Clark! This easily solves the "ghost bridge" theory. Hard to deny or "refute" something set in stone. I live just 2 miles from the bridge and your right, its not much to look at. When they took the pony out in 1960 it took away all the beauty and personality of this location. This bridge was still in good condition and I wonder if at that time it found a new home. Appreciate the assistance.