A committee of citizens, engineers and city officials in Carthage, Missouri, is hoping to come up with a solution to save its iconic Whee Bridge on Route 66, but it is running into the same obstacles — namely, the railroad — as previous city administrations.
The Joplin Globe reported that a federal court in 2019 ruled the Union Pacific Railroad is responsible for maintaining the Whee Bridge and other historic spans over its line in Carthage.
But city officials said the railroad is reluctant to spend any money on those bridges.
The railroad stated to the newspaper:
“We understand this historic bridge is important to the community of Carthage, and we are open to discussions with the city’s bridge committee and other stakeholders regarding its future.”
Committee Chairman and City Council Member Derek Peterson said the bridge committee met in September, October and November and is still gathering data and information it needs about the status of all the city’s bridges.
“We’ve been working on a tentative prioritization list,” Peterson said. “First and foremost is the Oak Street, or Whee, Bridge not only due to its historical significance of being (on) Route 66 but also the fact that it’s such a staple of Carthage and kind of an iconic piece of our community. The initial work has been to find solutions for the Oak Street Bridge and then follow up our North Garrison Street bridges, which tentatively present a much larger financial burden just because of how big (they are) and what a poor state they are in.”
The city has made some cosmetic repairs to the Whee Bridge’s side rail and the road surface, and a Route 66 shield on the span would be repainted soon.
But more substantial work is needed. The bridge is limited to 5-ton loads.
Three other bridges over the rail line are closed on McGregor, Walnut and Sycamore streets because they failed state inspections.
Three other concrete bridges owned by the city on North Garrison Street between Carthage and Kendricktown are also in poor condition, according to state inspectors. The cost to replace those would be about $38 million.
The Whee Bridge on Oak Street (aka Route 66) is also known as Tickle Tummy Hill because of its steep apex. It was built in 1905 — two decades before U.S. 66 was federally commissioned.
(Image of the Oak Street Bridge, aka Whee Bridge, in Carthage, Missouri, courtesy of Rod Harsh)