Seven Stone Arches Bridge
Photos
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Overview Photo taken by James Baughn |
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South arches Photo taken by James Baughn |
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North arches Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Detail of one arch Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Center stringer spans Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Underneath arch Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Center pier Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Underneath center span Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Deck view looking south Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Concrete railing Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Looking upstream Photo taken by James Baughn |
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View from above Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Plaque Photo taken by James Baughn |
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Guard Rail Looking Upstream Photo taken by John Christeson in April 2011 |
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Deck View Looking South Photo taken by John Christeson in April 2011 |
Map
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- Google Street View (if available)
- Yahoo! Maps
- Bing Maps
- MSR Maps
- OpenStreetMap
Facts
- Overview
- Stone arch and steel stringer bridge over Terre Bleue Creek on Hillsboro Road
- Location
- St. Francois County, Missouri
- Status
- Open to traffic with a 15 ton weight limit
- Future prospects
- Preserved
- History
- Built 1932 by the Works Progress Administration
- Builder
- - Works Progress Administration
- Design
- From north to south:
Four stone arches
Two steel stringer spans resting on a center stone pier
Three stone arches - Dimensions
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Length of largest span: 29.8 ft.
Total length: 203.0 ft.
Deck width: 20.0 ft.
- Recognition
- Eligible for the National Register of Historic Places
- Also called
- Ruth L. Waller Bridge (official name)
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +37.92751, -90.47196 (decimal degrees)
37°55'39" N, 90°28'19" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 15/722190/4200786 (zone/easting/northing)
- Land survey
- Survey #2107 (T. 37 N., R. 5 E.)
- USGS topographic map
- French Village
- Inventory numbers
- MONBI 13972 (Missouri bridge number on the National Bridge Inventory)
BH 22608 (Bridgehunter.com ID) - Inspection (as of 12/2010)
- Deck condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 60.6 (out of 100) - Average daily traffic (as of 2010)
- 130
Comments
It is said that the bridge was a WPA project. That's not possible as the WPA wasn't established until 1935 and the bridge was finished in 1932.
It could possibly have been a RFC project. Reconstruction Finance Corporation was started in 1932 during the Hoover administration. It seems that WPA is the default program that gets credit for anything that was done in the 1930s if no one remembers for certain.
Charles C. Blackwell planned and helped construct this bridge. His obituary:
LEAD BELT NEWS, Flat River, St. Francois Co. MO, Thurs. Nov. 26, 1981
CHARLES C. BLACKWELL
Charles Coleman Blackwell of Bonne Terre, passed away at his residence November 20, 1981 at the age of 94. He was born February 4, 1887 in Blackwell, Mo. to the late Aquilla and Dolly (Coleman) Blackwell.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary (Miller) Blackwell, in 1960; one daughter, Ruby Collins; 5 sisters and 7 brothers.
Surviving are 4 sons and 2 daughters: Robert Blackwell, Bonne Terre; Ralph Blackwell, Newport Beach, California; Earl Blackwell, Hillsboro, Mo.; James Blackwell, St. Charles; Elsie (Mrs. L. B.) Matthews, Middlebrook; and Bonnie (Mrs. Leslie) Bates of Bismarck, North Dakota.
Also surviving are one sister, Mrs. Fannie Eaves of Festus, Mo., 13 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Mr. Blackwell was a former school teacher, farmer and stone mason. The proudest accomplishment of his long life was his planning and construction of the seven-arch bridge across Terre Bleu on the old Hillsboro Road, 4 miles east of Bonne Terre.
Services were Sunday, November 22 at 2:00 p.m. at Sparks Chapel with Rev. Leland Butler officiating.
Interment was in St. Francois Memorial Park under the direction of Sparks Funeral Home of Bonne Terre.
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/mo/st-francois/seven-arches/