Route 137 Bridge over BNSF Railroad at Willow Springs in Howell County Available Free…

SIKESTON - The historic Missouri Route 137 bridge over BNSF railroad in Willow Springs, Missouri is available for relocation and reuse by others. Any interested party is encouraged to submit a proposal no later than Sept. 15, 2026 to the Missouri Department of Transportation Historic Preservation Section to obtain the structure.

Slated for an upcoming improvement project, this bridge (K0789) can be obtained by government entities, historical or civic groups, or private citizens, free of charge. Details about the bridge can be viewed online at www.modot.org/freebridges. Anyone interested in obtaining a historic bridge must submit a detailed proposal describing the dismantling and relocation plan, cost and future use. A proposal checklist is available online.

The bridge is a 5-span, steel through plate girder bridge constructed in 1939. The substructure consists of one full height, reinforced-concrete, open abutment with three columns connected by haunched tie beams on the southeast end. On the northeast end is a closed, full height abutment that is earth-filled. The superstructure includes a main span, Span 2, of a plate girder. The plate girder is 6.5 feet tall with 3 feet 8 inches above the top of the deck. The plates are various sizes riveted together with splices approximately every 10 feet. The entire girder is 75 feet 4 inches long with floor beams every 11 feet.

In July 1938, Clifford Shoemaker, the District Engineer for the Bureau of Public Roads, was concerned the overhead crossing of the railroad was at the wrong location. Case No. 9752 before the Public Service Commission of the State of Missouri ordered the Missouri State Highway Commission and the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Company permission to construct an overhead crossing on Missouri State Highway Route S-H in Willow Springs, Missouri. The contractor for the project (FAGM 2-D (1)) was Carte-Harlin Construction Company of West Plains, Missouri getting the bid for $44,360.99. The galvanized railing was made by the Missouri Rolling Mill Corporation. The welder on the project was Mr. H.H. Moore of the Reynolds Manufacturing Company in Springfield, Missouri.

The bridge was determined eligible during consultation for the Pre-1945 Common Concrete and Steel Bridges Programmatic Agreement, executed April 13, 2021. The bridge is eligible under Criterion A for its association with transportation, specifically the Grade Separation Program, and Criterion C for engineering because of the atypical railings and the atypical combination of the railings with a through girder.

For more information about the bridge, please contact MoDOT's Historic Preservation Section at (573) 526-4778, via email at [email protected] or visit www.modot.org/freebridges.

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