Route 66 viaduct in Galena soon will be rehabbed

Cherokee County, Kan., soon will apply for federal money to stabilize the Front Street Bridge in Galena, which carries old Route 66 over the railroad tracks north of town, according to the Joplin Globe.

The National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program awarded the grant in 2008. It includes $30,000 from the National Park Service and a $50,000 local match.

The 216-foot-long structure was built in 1922 and 1923 to serve the mining industry, and it was incorporated into Route 66 in 1926. The viaduct was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Because of a crack in the bridge’s weight-bearing columns, the weight limit of the bridge has been dropped to where tourist buses could no longer use it. Considering that 4 Women on the Route is on the other side of the bridge, there’s a lot of incentive to repair the viaduct.

(Photo courtesy of Ace Jackalope of TheLope.com.)

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