Rating:
8 votes

Fort Morgan Rainbow Arch Bridge

Morgan County, Colorado

Photos 

Overview

Photo submitted by Marne Jurgemeyer

BH Photo #101604

Map 

Street View 

Description 

Supposedly the longest Marsh arch when completed in 1923.

From the Fort Morgan Area Chamber of Commerce site: http://www.fortmorganchamber.org/tourism.htm

"Built in 1922 – 1923, this landmark was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. Additionally, in 1992 it was designated a Colorado Civil Engineering Landmark. This bridge has survived major floods and in 1935 braced a 10 foot wall of water virtually undamaged. Today it is used for foot traffic and offers a beautiful view of the South Platte River."

Facts 

Overview
Eleven-span Marsh arch bridge over South Platte River on CO 52, just north of Fort Morgan
Location
Morgan County, Colorado
Status
Open to pedestrians only
History
Built 1922-23; made obsolete by new bridge in 1963; rehabilitated in 1987
Builders
- Charles G. Sheely of Denver, Colorado
- Colorado Bridge & Construction Co. of Denver, Colorado (Contractor)
- Marsh Engineering Co. of Des Moines, Iowa (Designer)
Design
Concrete pony (Marsh) arch
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 90.0 ft.
Total length: 1,110.0 ft.
Deck width: 19.0 ft.
Recognition
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on February 4, 1985
Also called
James Marsh Rainbow Arch Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+40.26906, -103.80122   (decimal degrees)
40°16'09" N, 103°48'04" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
13/601925/4458309 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Fort Morgan
Inventory numbers
NRHP 85000221 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
BH 11971 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Arch (11,841)
Built 1923 (604)
Built during 1920s (9,722)
Charles G. Sheely (8)
Colorado (667)
Colorado Bridge & Construction Co. (3)
Have street view (26,162)
Marsh Engineering Co. (41)
Marsh arch (65)
 Morgan County, Colorado (5)
NR-listed (2,908)
Open to pedestrians (3,997)
Owned by state (15,583)
Preserved (1,151)
Rainbow arch (247)
South Platte River (11)
Span length 75-100 feet (6,309)
Total length 1000-2500 feet (1,825)

Update Log 

  • January 20, 2015: New photo from Roger Deschner
  • August 24, 2012: New photos from Martha Carver
  • June 19, 2011: Updated by Clark Vance: Added Chamber of Commerce information, changed design to Marsh arch
  • April 25, 2010: New Street View added by J.P.
  • June 1, 2006: Posted photos from Marne Jurgemeyer

Sources 

  • Marne Jurgemeyer
  • J.P. - wildcatjon2000 [at] gmail [dot] com
  • Clark Vance - cvance [at] dogmail [dot] com
  • Martha Carver - martha_carver [at] bellsouth [dot] net
  • Roger Deschner - rogerdeschner [at] gmail [dot] com
  • Historical Article
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Comments 

Fort Morgan Rainbow Arch Bridge
Posted January 20, 2018, by Daniel (dmarkofsky [at] gmail [dot] com)

Visited January 20, 2018. Very cool bridge. A video in the nearby history museum of the 1965 flood shows the bridge withstanding the water. Amazing!

Fort Morgan Rainbow Arch Bridge
Posted May 14, 2015, by Nathan Holth (webmaster [at] historicbridges [dot] org)

Some nice historical photos in this article

https://books.google.com/books?id=czs5AQAAMAAJ&dq=rainbow%20...

Fort Morgan Rainbow Arch Bridge
Posted June 19, 2011, by Tony Dillon (spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com)

One word........."WOW"