Good and Bad News Out of Route 66's Times Beach, Missouri

FIRST, THE GOOD NEWS: The Route 66 Park near Eureka, Missouri, established in 1999 with a visitors center in an old 66 restaurant (now separated from the park because of the bridge closing) announced that soil sample testing shows it is still safe after the dangerous pesticides caused the town to be shut down.


THEN, THE NOT SO GOOD NEWS:  From the Oct. 27, 2012, Eureka-Wildwood Patch.  I just read that the bridge, which has been slated to be taken down, is now being taken apart, well, at least the deck is.  It has been declared unsafe, even for pedestrian traffic.  The 80-year-old bridge was a part of Route 66 connecting Times Beach across the Ceramic River.

The concrete deck is being cut into slabs and removed while the beams will be left in case the bridge is rebuilt in the next five years.  They expect to be done by December 14th.

I'm glad we 've had the opportunity to drive across the bridge several times before it was condemned.  here's hoping it can be rebuilt, especially since it does cause a problem with the Route 66 Park, with its visitors center/museum now being separated from park itself.  Now, you have to get back on I-44 to get between the two parts.

Here's Hoping the Bridge is Rebuilt.  --RoadDog