Springfield Bridge

The Springfield Bridge in Faulkner County is old, in fact it's the oldest bridge in the state of Arkansas. It was built in 1874, which (if my math is correct) was 146 years ago. That was so long ago that the president was Ulysses Grant and there were only 37 states. The iron bowstring truss bridge was constructed over Cadron Creek, along a road that ran between the town of Springfield to Des Arc.

The fact that the bridge is still standing is an amazing achievement and a rare preservation success. In 1991, the bridge was replaced with a new concrete bridge and was abandoned. For decades the bridge deteriorated, slowly accumulating damage from rot, floods and vandalism. The bridge was in such rough shape that it probably would not be standing now if it weren't for efforts from the city of Conway, who saved the bridge and moved it ten miles south to a new home on Lake Beaverfork a few years ago. The bridge was cleaned and refurbished, and is now in use as a pedestrian bridge.


For a bit of a comparison, here is the bridge in 2011:



And another view from 2011:


The last time I visited the bridge in its original location was in January of 2016. The bridge was in such bad shape that I assumed that it would be the last time I ever took pictures there. Most of the wooden deck looked like it had been burned away because of dumb people starting fires on the bridge. The iron arches were leaning precariously, and looked like they could be knocked down by the next flood.



Recently we've lost so many great structures, like the bridge at Clarendon or the Majestic Hotel in Hot Springs. So it still amazes me that the bridge was saved and preserved before it was lost forever. Hopefully it will shine as an example of how to save these places before they are gone.