If you are here because of "EVWR/L&N and Aban/Big Four Bridge over Little Wabash River at Carmi, IL," then you need to go there.
1933: (Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges) Names: Pony, Bridgeport and William H. Murray
2024: (Satellite)
On the same day I learned about this bridge, I learned about another long bridge over dirt.
This 3,944' (1202m, 3/4 mile) long bridge has 38 100' (30.5m) pony truss spans. It is probably the longest pony truss bridge in the USA. [HistoricBridges]
It was also the longest bridge on Route 66. [kfor]
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| Street View, Apr 2022 |
In 2024, the bridge was replaced by a wider bridge, but the truss webs were retained as decoration.
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| Oklahoma Department of Transportation via HistoricBridges |
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| Jan 2008 photo by Joe Sonderman via BridgeHunter |
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| Photo of the new bridge by Russell Teague via HistoricBridges, cropped |
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| stvinc 2026 is the centennial anniversary of Route 66 and Oklahoma maintains 400 miles of that route. |
Old Bridge:
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| Alan Davenport posted Old US 66 Canadian River Bridge Mother Bridge of the Mother Road Dennis DeBruler Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/9YAjZ1eDqLVf1gau8 |
New Bridge:
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| Mike Roquemore commented on Alan's post |
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| John Albert Christeson Jr. posted South Canadian River Bridge....(38 Pony Truss) US 281....(historic US 66) Bridgeport OK Patrick O'Donnell: The 38 pair of pony trusses no longer serve any structural (load bearing) purpose, they're now purely decorative. |
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| Mike Roquemore commented on Patrick's comment yup just a modern boring bridge underneath. At least they kept the truss elements for looks! |
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| Route 66 Information Station posted The historic Pony Bridge (officially the William H. Murray Bridge) is located west of Geary and El Reno, Oklahoma, on Route 66. It is 3,944 feet long, with 38 distinctive steel pony trusses, and crosses the South Canadian River in Bridgeport. The bridge is the longest bridge of its kind in the US. It was featured in the 1940 film "The Grapes of Wrath." |
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| Don Lindsley posted |
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| Arshaka Mahendra posted Then and Now: Route 66 🌵 Bridgeport Bridge, Oklahoma, built in 1933, is the longest bridge on Oklahoma’s Route 66, stretching over 3,900 feet. Known as the “Pony Bridge” for its 38 camelback trusses. 🚗🛣️ |
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| John qualley commented on Arshaka's post stable. |
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| Linda Suskie posted Th National Park Service has called the road from El Reno to Hydro one of the great drives on Route 66. The pavement is original from the 1930s, and the scenery of rolling hills is probably very similar to what it looked like in the 1930s...no modern structures. We loved this drive. Along the way is the magnificent William H. Murray Pony Bridge, site of one of the scenes in the Grapes of Wrath. It is an amazing feat for the 1930s...seems to go on forever. It was recently rebuilt, but the original pony trusses were preserved and reattached to the new bridge. There's now a compass at one end in tribute to the engineers who designed it. |
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| This photo has been moved to here. |
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