Frisco - Fort Smith Bridge -- Van Buren AR - Truss Bridges on Waymarking.com

An awesome 1916 drawbridge (with a vertical lift span installed in 1976) over the Arkansas River just west of Van Buren. The bridge was built by the St Louis and San Francisco Railroad, that now serves the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad.

There are both Pratt through-truss segments and Warren truss segments on this bridge, since the bridge has been washed out and repaired several times. The vertical-lift segment was added in 1976 as part of the Army Corps of Engineers McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River project.

From the Bridgehunter website: (visit link)

"Overview: Vertical-lift through truss bridge over the Arkansas River on the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad between Fort Smith and Van Buren in Van Buren

Location: Van Buren, Sebastian County, Arkansas, and Crawford County, Arkansas

Status: Under Repairs due to cables snapping on the lift section Jan. 21, 2014; reopened after span was lowered Jan. 23, 2014. Repairs are ongoing to allow to bridge to lift again.

History: Originally built by the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad, now used by the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad

Design: Vertical lift Warren through truss

Also called: Frisco - Fort Smith Bridge."

But if you want the FULL history of the multiple bridges here, including AWESOME historic photos and disaster pics of floods that washed away sections of this bridge, see this AMAZING website by Mike Conden: (visit link)

Parking Coordinates:: N 35° 25.913 W 094° 22.137 Date Built: 01/01/1916 Length of Span: about 2200 feet www: http://condrenrails.com/FSVB/Bridges/Frisco-Bridge.htm

Visit Instructions:
Log your find with a picture of the bridge with yourself or your GPS in the foreground. This shot does not have to be taken "on" the bridge. The shot should show the "truss" structure of the bridge as well.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   01/22/2015 Benchmark Blasterz visited it