At least this happened where the historic bridge may have more than a ghost of a chance at preservation. If this bridge were in Pennsylvania or Ohio, it could most likely be written off as a hopeless loss with no governmental support.
I sent them an e-mail as well. Hopefully, if enough of us respond, it will help convey the importance of this wonderful span to the elected officials.
Nathan:
I strongly agree that we must do more than just photograph bridges. I have been in contact with other officials, and have been advocating for the preservation of several bridges as well. I appreciate the fact that you sent a letter to the Cloud County commisioners. Cloud County has been one of the best counties in Kansas for HB preservation, so hopefully your letter will be well-received.
I have sent an email to the Cloud County Commissioners explaining the importance of the bridge as well as the feasibility of carefully removing and storing this collapsed bridge for future preservation. I explained that even the independent parts of the bridge such as the iron column top chord are significant enough in their own right that even if they entire bridge could not be restored, that these parts could hold their own in a museum exhibit.
I encourage anyone here at BridgeHunter who cares about historic bridges to send an email to Cloud County encouraging them to not scrap this bridge out. Caring about historic bridges means more than just photographing bridges. We must act to save these bridges for future generations. An email does not take long to send. Here is a link to the commissioners: http://www.cloudcountyks.org/Commissioners/tabid/3770/Defaul...
If you need help understanding what makes bowstring truss bridges significant, please view my page here: http://www.historicbridges.org/iowa/mcdowell/index.php and don't forget to scroll to the end of the narrative for several additional resources.
This is certainly unfortunate. Cloud County has has several bridges on the NRHP and there appears to be a strong interest in historic bridges in the area. The small size of this bridge would allow it to be transported to a park with relative ease.
I hope that other bridges in the area were not destroyed by this flood.
Hopefully the arches can be pulled out of the creek and stored. There are a few people out there that can do wonders with a damaged span like this. It could see life again in a park someday.
I have also sent an update to my correspondents concerning the status of this bridge. I am cautiously optimistic that it could be salvageable.