Ok, so I’m going to level with you. I wanted to write a whole post about just this bridge.
38, count them, thirty-eight glorious spans! It’s almost 4,000 feet long! It absolutely took my breath away. I forgive you if you don’t share my enthusiasm.
It’s officially known as the William H. Murray Bridge, but I guess the locals call it the Yellow Bridge, for obvious reasons. It was built in 1933. It carries US 281 (formerly US 66) over the South Canadian River.
Annnnnnnnnd… well, that’s all I can say about it. Well, there is one more thing. As I was taking pictures here, a passing state trooper slowed way down and looked at me like I was nuts. Ah, the slings and arrows we bridgefans suffer.
Fortunately, we also crossed several other great Route 66 bridges. Like this one that crosses the Big Piney River at Devil’s Elbow, Missouri.
It’s on a twisty and pretty old alignment of the road.
This bridge was built in 1923, too. It’s near the little town of Spencer, Missouri. Route 66 was rerouted nearby in 1960.
In Kansas, this 1923 Marsh arch bridge is known as the Rainbow Bridge. Even though another bridge was built alongside it in 1992 to carry Route 66 traffic, this bridge is still open to traffic for nostalgia’s sake.
It’s only open in one direction though, and not the one I was facing when I took this shot.
This 1924 bridge carries an old alignment of Route 66 just west of Oklahoma City. A restoration was completed in 2011.
Every old bridge on Route 66 probably gets an extra chance to live just because it’s associated with the Mother Road. I say right on!
I love old truss bridges. They’re art in steel.
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