An appeals court in St. Louis ruled against the City of Carthage, Missouri, in its effort to get a railroad to repair its historic bridges, including the famous Oak Street Bridge (aka Whee Bridge) that carries Route 66.
A three-judge panel with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that the statute of limitations had expired before the city filed a lawsuit in 2019 that asked a court to force the Union Pacific Railroad to fix the bridges, reported the Joplin Globe.
City Attorney Nate Dally told city councilors during a meeting last week the appellate court ruling essentially ends the case.
City administrator Greg Dagnan said the ruling also puts the repair of the bridges in limbo because the railroad still owns them.
“We don’t own the bridges,” Dagnan said. “If the Oak Street bridge fails its next inspection, the city can’t do anything about it other than block it. We will tell MoDOT to call the railroad and tell them to close it. We closed that pedestrian walkway when it failed even though we didn’t really think they were our bridges at the time.” […]
The Oak Street bridge, a landmark on Route 66, is rated for vehicles weighing no more than 5 tons, and the walkway for pedestrians on the north side of the bridge was closed several years because of cracks in the walkway supports that did not affect the structure of the bridge itself.
The bridges were built about 100 years ago.
The Oak Street Bridge also is known as the Whee Bridge or Tickle Tummy Hill. The “whee” or tickled tummies by motorists and their passengers occur because of the bridge’s uncommonly steep apex.
Locals and Route 66 advocates for years have been vocal about keeping the bridge’s unique character.
(Image of the Oak Street Bridge, aka Whee Bridge, in Carthage, Missouri, courtesy of Rod Harsh)
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