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Rainbow Bridge north of
Baxter
Springs,
Kansas,
Kathy Weiser, September, 2007.
This image available for
photographic prints and downloads
HERE!
About two miles west of Riverton on old
Route 66
the road begins to curve into the last
Mother Road town in
Kansas --
Baxter
Springs. Just north of
Baxter
Springs is the last Marsh Arch Bridge
to survive on the route. The single-span concrete bridge, crossing
Brush Creek, was built in 1923.
In 1992, construction of a softer curve bypassed the Rainbow Bridge at
Brush Creek and federal funds allocated for the new bridge required that
the old bridge be torn down. However, the
Kansas
Route 66 Association rallied hard to save
the bridge, and finally a compromise was met and the landmark was saved.
In March, 1993, the bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic
Places as the Brush Creek Bridge, which will prohibit its destruction.
For years, the old landmark was covered with
graffiti, but is now restored to its former glory. The narrow bridge can
still be driven across by south-bound traffic.
A Norwegian Tour Group crosses the historic
bridge in September, 2007, Kathy Weiser.
Read about
the Kansas Mother Road
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