SIKESTON - The historic Route 80 bridge over Drainage Ditch #29 in Mississippi County is available for relocation and reuse by others. The bridge is located approximately nine miles east of East Prairie, Missouri.

Any interested party is encouraged to submit a proposal no later than Oct. 10, 2026 to the Missouri Department of Transportation Historic Preservation Section to obtain the structure.

Slated for an upcoming improvement project, this bridge (F0788) 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 Warren pony truss constructed in 1922. It is 65-feet long with a roadway width of 20 feet and a skew of 42 degrees. 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 inches.

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

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.

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.

###