MNA = Missouri & Northern Arkansas
SIMS = St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern
"Significance: The Cotter Bridge is the only bridge in Arkansas known to be
designed and engineered by the Marsh Engineering Company, a
significant twentieth-century bridge-building company. Among the
largest they ever designed, it is also an excellent example of the
company's patented Marsh Rainbow Arch. A unique feature of the
bridge is that it was constructed by means of a cableway, suspended
across the river, over which all materials were transported to various
parts ofthe structure. The Cotter Bridge was instrumental in making
accessible a new region of the Ozarks, an important recreational area
in the United States. It became Arkansas' first National Civil
Engineering Landmark in 1986." [HAER_data, at the end of that webpage are some blueprints for this bridge]
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| Street View, Jul 2023 |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted Cotter Bridge, Flippin, Arkansas. (Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.) HAER ARK,3-COT,1--5 5. VIEW OF CENTER SPAN OF BRIDGE FROM RIVERBED, LOOKING SOUTHWEST - Cotter Bridge, Spanning White River at U.S. Highway 62, Cotter, Baxter County, AR |
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| Fredrick Garcia via BridgeHunter_Cotter |
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| Street View, Jul 2023 |
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| HAER ARK,3-COT,1--4 4. LOOKING NORTHEAST, GENERAL VIEW OF BRIDGE |
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| HAER ARK,3-COT,1--10 10. VIEW OF BRIDGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION, SHOWING CENTRAL ARCH AND PIERS, WITH CABLEWAY ABOVE AND TOWER ON BACKGROUND |
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| HistoricBridges_Cotter "While the nearby state of Kansas may have the greatest quantity of surviving Marsh type rainbow arch bridges in the country, it is this single surviving example in Arkansas that is ironically also the greatest Marsh arch bridge. This bridge's impressive height over the waterway, enormous arch spans over the river (complimented by a single small arch span over railroad tracks), and the overall multi-span layout of this bridge that all combine to form what is the most impressive and historically significant Marsh rainbow arch bridge in the entire country. In a very real sense this bridge also represents the ultimate aesthetic potential of concrete in bridge construction. From every angle that this bridge is viewed it projects a profound beauty that is unmatched in more simple concrete bridge forms. "Beautifully preserved, this bridge remains in good condition today. Repairs and replacements made, such as railing and lighting, are respective of the original bridge design." [This is one of the few bridges that HistoricBridges rates with two 10s.] |
MoPac Swing Bridge
The swing span is now over an island! I wonder how much further upstream steamboats used to travel on this river.
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| Street View, Jun 2014 |
Back when the channel was under the swing span.
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| Photo by Fredrick Garcia via BridgeHunter_MoPac |
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| Photo by Nicky Elmore via BridgeHunter_MoPac |
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| HistoricBridges_MoPac "This bridge is unusual because it is fairly high above normal water level for a swing bridge. Most boats would be able to fit under this bridge. Today, the bridge is even more unusual because with trees growing under one of the swing span arms, and shallow water under the other, it is clear this river has not been navigable for large boats for a very long time!" |
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