The Waynesville (Mo.) Daily Guide reports that Pulaski County Commissioner Bill Farnham appears to have been successful in persuading the state Department of Transportation to repair the old Route 66 bridge that leads into the village of Devil’s Elbow.
State financing is only one $250,000 piece of a multi-part financing package totaling $1.46 million that, if successful, would reopen the Devil’s Elbow Bridge to tour bus traffic, prevent further bridge deterioration, and make it possible for drivers to continue traveling the original route of Historic Route 66.
Farnham said he was pleasantly surprised after an initial evaluation that wasn’t so positive.
“We were about the lowest-ranked project going in there, but after a 20-minute presentation by (a project engineer) and myself, we walked out feeling pretty good. And about 4 p.m. we got the word that they voted to award us the money,” Farnham said. “(Photos of another bridge rehabilitation project) looked nice and shiny silver, brand-spanking new, and that’s what this bridge will look like after it’s rehabbed. And they’ll be able to raise the weight limit on it so tourist buses can go through.”
According to this well-researched Web site, the Devil’s Elbow Bridge was built in 1923.