Neosho River-Old Trego Rd. Bridge

Yep, the downstream one is another collapsed bridge standing.

This one definitely has a leg up (On dry land) over the other two when it comes to survival! ;-p

The three Parker trusses over the Neosho in this area are going to be subjected to some bad flooding today.

Here's one from the south side taken in December 2012

Here's one from the south side taken in December 2012

Visited this weekend. Gate closed, cattle and farm equipment park on road beyond fence. May check with local offices later, but this one may be done for visiting.....glad KSHS got on there fairly recently.

I just added a KHRI link for this Parker Truss. KSHS visited the bridge in 2016, and the link contains a recent photograph.

The bridge is still considered to be non-eligible for the NRHP. I am hoping that this decision might get reconsidered. This bridge is significant as an outstanding example of a Parker Truss constructed by a regional firm.

I am not sure what caused this one to be ineligible. It might have been due to the loss of the approach spans. That being said, the important part of the bridge is still in place.

Sounds to me like they need to get somebody on staff that knows what SHOULD be considered historic!... Robert??

I have several pictures of this bridge. One was taken in the late 1940s from the downstream side. I also have some from the late 1980s and early 1990s taken from both the river and the abandoned road south of the bridge. Interesting to see how far the river has moved in the past 60 years. During the early 1970s, the water beneath the main span was over 10 foot deep. Times sure change.

The road leads to the lift station which supplies water to the town of St. Paul. The lift station is not far from the bridge. I will get pictures some time in the future, but will probably wait until the leaves have fallen since it's kind of hard to see the bridge through the trees. My father-in-law is mayor so I'm pretty sure I can get access! :)

I attempted to photograph this bridge on 3 July 2010 but the road was barricaded by a steel gate. The road may still be public, but a government agency appears to be controlling access. Local inquiry might provide answers, but this barricade may be a means of protecting migratory waterfowl in the Neosho Wildlife Area.

Tom:

Thanks for that explanation. That makes a lot of sense. I had not accounted for the river changing its course, thus I had also assumed that it had more than one span.

I spoke to one of the locals who said that the bridge only had one span and was abandoned after the flood of 1951 when the river washed around the south side of it where it currently flows. I guess this is why I assumed that it had more than one span, since it looks like it should span the river.

Tom:

Thanks for that information. I am assuming that one of the trusses is extant based on your information. The KSHS photograph indicates that this must have been a double span at one time.

I just had a look at the A.M. Blodgett category. Thus far all of the listings are in Missouri and Neosho County, Kansas. It appears that many of the Missouri spans have been demolished in recent years.

This bridge is long abandoned and only one section on the north side of the river still exists. I don't know if any of it still exists on the south side, but doesn't appear so. Some time I'll try getting a photo and posting it here.

Bridge status is unknown.

KSHS link with photo: http://khri.kansasgis.org/index.cfm?tab=details&in=133-0000-...