Old State Road 70 Bridge - Arcadia, Florida, USA - Orphaned Bridges on Waymarking.com

In the early days of Arcadia and DeSoto County pioneering families used a ferry to cross the Peace River. A bridge was built in 1892. Due to it being made of wood it was soon replaced with a second wooden bridge in 1896. Later an iron bridge was constructed by the Converse Bridge Company of Chattanooga, Tennessee. (A postcard photo of this bridge is included in the photo gallery.) Around 1917 this iron bridge collapsed while cattle were being driven across it. The iron bridge was repaired, however, it continued to deteriorate and become unsafe.

In October of 1924 the county entered into a contract with the Luten Bridge Company of York, PA. and Palatka, FL. to build a new bridge at a cost of $25,500. That bridge was completed in June of 1925.

The bridge design consists of closed-spandrel arch with 4 reinforced concrete spans measuring 201 feet long with a deck width of 18 feet. The length of the largest span is 44 feet. It was originally built for old State Road 18 which later became State Road 70 which was a major east-west route that ran from Fort Pierce to Bradenton.

It included a standard solid parapet with cast-in rectangular patterns. The closed spandrel walls were filled with compacted earth and rock. Decorative columns for lamppost lighting were erected on the sidewalls.

The structure now serves as a pedestrian bridge and carries a utility pipeline across the Peace River. The installation of the pipeline led to damage to the wing walls at each end of the south railing. The original lampposts have been removed.

Original Use: Vehicle - Car / Truck Date Built: 1925 Construction: Concrete Condition: Poor Date Abandoned: 1961 Bridge Status - Orphaned or Adopted.: Orphaned See this website for more information: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   12/06/2019 BoomersOTR visited it