Rehab of Devil’s Elbow Bridge is on the horizon

It appears the long-percolating bid to repair the historic Devil’s Elbow Bridge on Route 66 in Devil’s Elbow, Mo., finally will start to happen this fall, according to the Waynesville Daily Guide.

From a report about a Pulaski County Commission meeting, the newspaper said:

[F]inal plans for the project should be submitted to MoDOT by Oct. 26, and the project will then begin accepting bids. Once bids are accepted, work is estimated to take approximately six months.

The Devil’s Elbow Bridge, part of the Historic Route 66, attracts visitors from around the world. Currently, work needs to be done to repair the bridge so it can safely support the weight of heavier vehicles, like busses. Extensive rust on the bridge is also a serious concern.

The estimated cost of the project is approximately $1,600,000. A large portion of that will be covered by grants.

One county commissioner, Bill Farnham, said he’d been “working on this for about two terms now.” He said he was looking forward to cutting the ribbon on the bridge when the repair work is finished.

According to BridgeHunter.com, the Devil’s Elbow Bridge was built in 1923. The 588-foot span goes over the Little Piney River. That portion of Route 66 was bypassed in 1942, but remains popular with tourists because of the Elbow Inn bar and restaurant (made partly infamous by this wonderful blog post) and Sheldon’s Market, which doubles as the town’s post office.

(Hat tip: Joe Sonderman)

2 thoughts on “Rehab of Devil’s Elbow Bridge is on the horizon

  1. The Devil’s Elbow area was one of my favorites on all of 66. I loved the terrain, and the wooded bluffs. Just beautiful.

    By the way, although I’ve been reading this blog for some time now, now that I’ve done the entire Route, I’m enjoying your posts even more. Having been certain places or seen certain things brings back fond memories.

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