Bruns' Bridge

On April 16th we were out taking photos and we stopped so I could get photos of the old bridge. Little did I know what would happen to the bridge on May 1st! We returned on May 19th and I took photos of the wreckage. I didn't want to post them on this page so as not to spoil the beauty of the old bridge. I have posted both the "beauty shots" and the "wreckage shots" to my PBase page at this link:

http://www.pbase.com/sharonmsphotos/bruns_bridge

I have been wondering if it was still somewhat intact, albeit undoubtedly mangled.

Field check today: the wreckage is still in the water. The river is still high so only a portion is visible. It's hard to imagine how much water it took to push this bridge off the abutments.

Here is the bridge being destroyed.

https://twitter.com/RaferWeigel/status/859163415998115840

This is the cost of "Do Nothing." This rare bridge should have been relocated, preserved and reused. It was one of the oldest and most unique of its type in the area. States like Indiana have a bridge management plan to address bridges like this. Missouri in contrast has a horrible preservation track record. State policy is just as much to blame here as Mother Nature.

Attachment #1 (video/mp4; 224,800 bytes)

Yes, I hope that we don't lose any others in this flooding event. One bridge collapse is bad enough. This entire multi-state region still has quite a few abandoned trusses, but that number drops with every major flood.

Sad news indeed!

Sounds like the old girl had survived historic floods in the past. Guess it was just time for Mother Nature to have the final say! I just hope this is our only loss!

Pics are 30 mins before it was takin by the flood lots of memories here all we can hope for now is it gets cleaned up for all of us who enjoy this stretch of river every summer in our boats.

Story here:

http://www.emissourian.com/public_announcements/bruns-bridge...

Hard to believe this old bridge is now gone. I grew up close to it and crossed it hundreds of times as a kid. Anyone growing up in this area, as well as the surrounding areas, knew of this bridge. It was a long lasting landmark for so many...for so long. Will have many fun memories of this, the last truss bridge in this area.

News Article:

http://www.emissourian.com/public_announcements/bruns-bridge...

What a tragic loss. I was afraid that Missouri, Arkansas, and perhaps Oklahoma would lose some bridges in this event.

This flooding illustrates why I am comfortable with restored bridges being moved off of active rivers and placed over nearby smaller creeks, ponds, or drainage ditches. Likewise, I am in favor of them being raised and placed on taller, wider, and sturdier pylons.

The collapse of this bridge represents a terrible loss of a great historic resource. I wish that I could have seen it in person. Thanks for letting us know about this collapse. I will update the page to reflect your information.

Bruns' Bridge was washed away during major flooding on May 1, 2017.

Visited the bridge last night during a thunderstorm and got this picture.

The photo of this bridge, at flood stage, posted in the "comments" section, really adds perspective to the volume of water that can pass thru this location.

I too am a member of the Bruns Family. My Great Grandmother was Anna Bruns-Schuchart who grew up in the Big House (Bruns House). She was the youngest of 10 children of Johann & Margaret Oeltjenbruns (later changed to Bruns - 1880).

I am submitting a photo of the Bruns Bridge at flood stage taken before 1940, as well as two photos of the Bruns House as it looked before 1900.

This bridge holds a lot of memories for me and my family. I remember my great aunt Elizabeth’s 90th? birthday and the family reunion. I can recall going to this same bridge well as the old house near the bridge and hearing all of the great stories my grandmother, Shirley Ray Bruns, had there when she was young. Such wonderful memories! I feel proud that this legacy still lives on and will forever be a part of my family even though my grandmother and mother are no longer living.

This bridge scares the crap out of me! A friend of mine jumped off of it and drowned in may of 08. Him and his other friends used to go there all the time and jump off of it but this time was bad. I went to the bridge about a year ago and there was a noose hanging from the very top of it, which shocked me because i dont know how anyone could have got it up there. but i heard that many people have hung themselves at the bridge. i will never go near it again. r.i.p. vernon r foree

my best friend died here.

My brother and I visited this bridge a few weeks ago, I remember when in school hearing the other kids talk about hanging out here. school kids still congregate to this spot judging by the empty soda cans and food wrappers. It's a very neat bridge indeed. Whilst there my brother took this profound picture of a flower growing up through the deck, enjoy!!

This bridge is a landmark for all who grew up in this area. The name we all knew it as was "Big Bruns' Bridge". The name given because of an old woman, Elizabeth Bruns, and her family who have lived many years in this area raising cattle and farming the land. She is over 100 years old now and ,I believe, still lives in the same house very close to the bridge.

Several of us kids used to jump off this bridge (late 80's) into the water below. If you were brave (stupid) you jumped off the top spans. The river was about 9ft. deep under the bridge so it was quite the adventure. There are many good memories in this area and this bridge holds many for a lot of people who grew up here. It was a gift that they simply bypassed it with a new concrete structure instead of dropping it and cutting it up for scrap.

Thanks again for a great internet site!