Historic Bridges of the U.S.

Overview

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Photos

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Overview

Photos taken July 2006 by David Backlin

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View from a distance

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Looking north

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Looking south

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Overhead

Map

Vicinity map

Map links:

Facts

Overview: Eight-span rainbow arch bridge over the Arkansas River on S. Broadway (Southbound) in Wichita
Location: Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas
Status: Open to two lanes of southbound traffic
History: Built 1931; rehabilitated 1996
Design: Concrete through arch
Dimensions: Length of largest span: 100.0 ft.
Total length: 800.0 ft.
Deck width: 26.2 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 20.9 ft.
Recognition: Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on January 22, 1992
Also called: John Mack Bridge (official name)
Approximate latitude, longitude: +37.64488, -97.33527 (decimal degrees)
37°38'42" N, 97°20'07" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Inventory numbers: NRHP 91002018 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
BH 18517 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection (as of 11/2002): Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Appraisal: Functionally obsolete
Sufficiency rating: 55.2 (out of 100)
Average daily traffic (as of 2000): 18,673

Update Log

August 18, 2006: Posted photos from David Backlin

Sources

David Backlin - us71 [at] cox [dot] net
Robert Elder - bass-tbn [at] ku [dot] edu

Comments

Broadway Bridge

Posted May 16, 2007, by Robert L. Elder (Bass-tbn [at] ku [dot] edu)

During the early 1990s, there was talk of possibly demolishing the John Mack Bridge. One of the major problems was that the bridge was too narrow to effectively carry traffic in both directions. In the years following the construction of the bridge, Broadway was widened to four lanes, but the John Mack Bridge could accommodate only two lanes. Locals were able to get the bridge listed on the National Register in 1992, leading the effort to rehabilitate it and construct a new bridge to the east to carry northbound traffic.