The Lebanon (Missouri) Parks Department officially is moving forward with a feasibility study to see whether it can move part of Route 66’s endangered Gasconade River Bridge to Boswell Park, though it remains unclear whether the span will be torn down.
According to a report by KRMS radio, the cost to move the bridge isn’t as much as the department thought it would be: from $10,000 to $15,000.
Missouri Department of Transportation officials have listed the bridge for free before it plans to demolish it.
The parks department announced about a week ago it was considering the study.
If the 80-foot-long pony truss of the bridge is moved to Boswell Park in Lebanon, it would serve as a photo-op along with other Route 66-related displays there. MoDOT also would provide an interpretive panel that explains the evolution of Route 66, including its origin as Missouri Route 14, as well as how the bridge was engineered.
MoDOT also would provide a display at the Lebanon Route 66 Museum that explains the evolution of the bridge, which was constructed between 1922 and 1924 and predates Route 66. A preservation specialist said she hoped the bridge’s original blueprints or a copy of them would be included in the display.
Rich Dinkela, president of the Route 66 Association of Missouri, hasn’t given up with plans to have the association acquire the bridge and convert it into a pedestrian span. He and the Route 66 Gasconade River Bridge Guardians have sought to save the bridge for several years.
“I’m still here folks,” Dinkela stated in a thread about the bridge on Facebook. “I know I’ve been quiet but I still intend to save this bridge where it stands.”
State officials closed the bridge to vehicular traffic in December 2014 after an inspection revealed grave deterioration in the structure.
MoDOT later built a new bridge a few yards away from the old bridge and Interstate 44.
(Image of the Gasconade River Bridge courtesy of MaryPetrina Photography)