The Front Street Bridge, which carries an old alignment of Route 66 into downtown Galena, Kan., was recently downgraded in its load limit from 20 to 10 tons.
I was told the weight limit on the bridge, which essentially is a railroad overpass, was dropped because of problems with one of the support pillars. Last weekend, I drove to the 1923 bridge and walked underneath. The problems there are apparent:
That’s the worst pillar. But there were problems on at least one other pillar, and there is exposed rebar on one of the horizontal beams that support the roadbed:
I’m sure a few Route 66 travelers are thinking: “Big deal. My car/motorcycle/pickup doesn’t weigh anywhere close to 10 tons.”
However, a 10-ton limit is a big deal to tour buses and large recreational vehicles, many of which meet or surpass that weight. It’s also a big deal to downtown Galena merchants on Route 66, including the recently opened 4 Women on the Route. They don’t want the buses and RVs to bypass them.
One of the 4 Women, Renee Charles, says the best and possibly fastest option to repair the bridge is a federal Transportation Enhancement grant.
Galena officials are well aware of the problem and seem determined to rectify it. We’ll let you know when there’s any progress on this front.
(Top photo by Ace Jackelope of TheLope.com.)
I think it’s very important to repair this bridge (or viaduct whatever people choose to call it) for 2 different reasons. One of course, is safety. No one wants to see the bridge collapsing and having people killed. The other reason is history, Route 66, all of Route 66 is an important part of American history. It needs to be preserved and repaired whenever the need arises.