Cherokee County, Kansas, recently received a $25,000 Attraction Development grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce to help repaint the Rainbow Bridge, aka the Marsh Arch Bridge, near Riverton.
According to the Route 66 Association of Kansas, Gearhead Curios owner and association Vice President Aaron Perry and association newsletter editor Machelle Smith approached the county commission in September about repainting the historic Route 66 bridge.
In a separate Facebook post last week, Perry said the bridge would be media blasted and given a long-term paint that will last for several decades.
“No longer will you be able to pull off a piece of peeling paint or a paint stalactite as a souvenir,” he wrote. “Good things happening on the 13.2 miles of Kansas Route 66 thanks to the Route 66 Association of Kansas.”
The county commission also approved designating $112,500 in American Rescue Plan Act funds for the bridge’s maintenance.
The Marsh Arch Bridge marked its 100th anniversary in December 2023.
In the mid-1990s, local preservationists managed to have the old bridge bypassed with a new section of road built just east of the span.
(Image of the Marsh Arch Bridge near Baxter Springs, Kansas, by Carol Highsmith via the Library of Congress)