(Note: see time correction below)
Norma Bolin, who’s best-known for her “Route 66 St. Louis Cookbook” and the recently released “Route 66 St. Louis,” dropped me a note over the weekend to let me know that the Missouri Department of Transportation made a last-minute change on a public meeting regarding the Route 66 bridge at Route 66 State Park near Eureka.
The meeting will be about 4-7 p.m. Wednesday at Eureka High School at 4525 Highway 109 (map here). Bolin says the meeting’s purpose to see whether there is public support for preserving the bridge.
Bolin wrote in an e-mail:
… MoDot’s press release says it is an open house style meeting to discuss the historical preservation process and the timeline for making a decision on the next step for the bridge. Its position is that it continues to look for someone else to take over the liability and responsibility for the bridge, and if no one is found then the bridge will be removed. MoDot’s wording makes it sound like there is nothing new and does not appear urgent.
They do not offer any other alternatives to show public support or to participate in this last minute meeting such as sending comments via email, etc. However, anyone wanting to do so should direct comments to Andrew Gates, community relations specialist at MoDot. I found his email address on a different and unrelated MoDot press release Andrew.gates@modot.mo.gov and would encourage the entire Route 66 community to send an email of support for the bridge (and send a copy to) Don Fink of the Route 66 State Park ( don.fink@dnr.mo.gov )
The Route 66 Bridge at the state park was closed to all traffic a few months ago after MoDOT officials determined it was unsafe and said it probably will have to be demolished. Trailnet, which acquired ownership of the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis and turned it into a pedestrian and bicycle trail, has shown interest in possibly acquiring the Route 66 Bridge, but nothing definite.
I reckon that quite a few locals would be interested in keeping the bridge. Route 66 Park’s main offices remain easily accessible. But the closing of the bridge has essentially cut off visitors from the rest of the park, requiring a convoluted route on county roads and Interstate 44. The lack of a bridge has greatly hurt the park’s viability.
Still, it would be a good idea if members of the Route 66 community would e-mail Andrew Gates and Don Fink and tell them that there are plenty of good reasons to keep the bridge around.
If the bridge can’t be saved, it adds another chapter of misfortune to that area. Route 66 State Park sits on the former site of Times Beach, which was evacuated and abandoned in the 1980s because of accidental dioxin contamination.
UPDATE: A Friends of the Meramec River Route 66 Bridge page has been set up on Facebook.