Big Piney Truss Bridge - Devil's Elbow, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 37° 50.896 W 092° 03.736
15S E 582500 N 4189394
Bridge is over the area they call the Elbows...
Waymark Code: WM11QAG
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 12/02/2019
Views: 13
County of bridge: Pulaski County
Location of bridge: MO-Z (old US-66) over Big Pinery River, N. edge of Devil's Elbow (the town)
Built: 1923
"The town of Devil’s Elbow is considered to be one of the highlights of a tour on Missouri Route 66. The area is home to the Big Piney River and its scenic bluffs, Sheldon’s Market which doubles as the Devil’s Elbow Post Office, The Elbow Inn Bar And Grill which originally opened in 1929, and last but not least, an old steel truss bridge across the river.
"The town’s picturesque setting has led film producers from around the world to record parts of their movies and TV shows in the area. Upon viewing the guest registry at Sheldon’s Market, one will discover that many of the visitors are from overseas. Although Devil’s Elbow is a sleepy Ozark town, the fame of Route 66 and its scenery attract visitors from worldwide. The visitor to Devil’s Elbow will also notice others slowly driving across the old steel truss bridge taking both still and moving pictures, no matter the time of day or week. The view of the 200 foot tall bluffs of Gasconade dolomite visible from the bridge was once described as being one of the "seven scenic wonders of Missouri" in literature from the Missouri Planning Commission.
"Rust has completely eaten through several gusset plates (plates used to attach different structural members) and laterals (stabilizing members) under the road deck. The laterals serve to keep shaking and vibration due to wind and traffic on the bridge to a minimum. These members are simple steel angles (members with an L-shaped cross section) that are placed diagonally at various points underneath the bridge. A few of these structural parts are now completely detached from their intended connections underneath of the bridge and are hanging freely. Parts of the laterals or their gusset plates have simply rusted through completely. Perhaps the most serious structural issue is with a support beam underneath the bridge on the southwest side. The beam consists of two standard channels (members with a C-shaped cross section) riveted back to back to roughly form an I-beam cross section. One of the standard channels has rusted nearly completely though, so this beam is only able to support one half of its designed load." ~ Conor Watkins