Historic Bridge - Drainage Ditch #29 Bridge

Bridge Location

County: Mississippi       

Road: Route 80   

Feature Crossed: Drainage Ditch #29 

Other Location Information: Approximately 9 miles east of East Prairie   

Structure Number or County Bridge Number:   Bridge No. F0788

Bridge Information

Owner: Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission   

Type: Warren Pony Truss

Length: 65’   

Width: 20’ 11”

Year Built: 1922

Builder: Roy L. Williams

Current Load Rating: N/A

History of Modifications, Rehabilitations, etc.: 1954 replacement of bearings, redecked in concrete, and road width widened by 6”   

Contact

For further information and proposal submittals, interested parties may contact: 

Name: Historic Preservation Section 

Organization: MoDOT

Address: PO Box 270, Jefferson City, MO 65102 

E-Mail:   co_historic_preservation@modot.mo.gov  

Phone: 573-526-4778 

Narrative Description

Bridge F0788 is 1922 Warren pony truss with alternating diagonals. It carries Route 80 over Drainage Ditch #29, approximately 9 miles east of East Prairie. It is 65’ long with a roadway width of 20’ and a skew of 42. It is two lanes, with concrete abutments, concrete curbs, and two-tier channel railing. The bridge was rehabilitated in 1954 with the replacement of bearings, the original timber deck redecked in concrete, and the road width widened by 6”. 

Awards for Mississippi County projects 198A and 198B, which included several drainage ditch bridges, were awarded on December 12, 1922, to Roy L. Williams. In 1954 the bearings were replaced, it was redecked with concrete, and the road width widened 6", and the guardrails were replaced by project 55-7 awarded on March 10 to Paul Montgomery of Poplar Bluff.

The bridge is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A for its association with the Little River Drainage District. 

MoDOT’s Historic Preservation Section is now accepting proposals for the relocation and reuse of the bridge or its components until October 10th, 2026. A proposal checklist is available on MoDOT’s Free Bridges website (http://www.modot.org/freebridges/). Preservation covenants may accompany the bridge.