The Arkansas River Bridge in Chaffee County is a historic steel deck truss bridge that carries US 24 over the Arkansas River. Built in 1937, the bridge is an important surviving example of steel deck truss construction and has been identified as one of the preservation-priority bridges in the Historic Bridges of Colorado effort.
The bridge is significant within the transportation history of central Colorado. US 24 has long served as an important route through mountain and river landscapes, connecting communities, recreation areas, and regional travel corridors. At the Arkansas River crossing, the highway required a bridge capable of spanning a dramatic natural setting while supporting modern vehicular traffic. The Arkansas River Bridge fulfilled that need with a structural type that is now uncommon in Colorado.
A deck truss bridge differs from a through truss bridge in the placement of the roadway. In a through truss, traffic passes between the trusses; in a deck truss, the roadway is carried above the truss framework. This arrangement allows the structural system to sit below the roadway deck, making it useful where a route must cross a deep river channel, canyon, or other substantial drop. The Arkansas River Bridge is especially important because steel deck trusses are relatively rare among Colorado’s surviving historic highway bridges.
The Arkansas River Bridge was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 as part of the Highway Bridges in Colorado Multiple Property Submission. The bridge is significant under Criterion A in the area of Transportation for its role on an important regional highway, and under Criterion C in the area of Engineering as a rare example of a Colorado Highway Department-designed Pratt deck truss bridge. Its steel, rigid-connected Pratt deck truss and original doghouse-style concrete railings remain key character-defining features.
The bridge’s steel deck truss design reflects the engineering priorities of the 1930s. During this period, the Colorado Highway Department continued to use substantial steel bridge types where crossing conditions required long spans, strength, and dependable performance. The Arkansas River Bridge demonstrates how engineers selected bridge types to respond to topography, hydrology, and transportation needs rather than relying on a single standardized solution.
The bridge’s character-defining features include its steel deck truss superstructure, the relationship between the roadway deck and the truss below, and its setting over the Arkansas River. These features convey both the bridge’s engineering significance and its adaptation to the surrounding landscape. Because the truss is positioned beneath the roadway, the bridge may be less visually obvious to travelers than a through truss, but its structural significance is substantial.
The Arkansas River Bridge also has strong interpretive value because of its location along a major river corridor. The Arkansas River has shaped transportation, settlement, recreation, and economic activity in central Colorado. A historic bridge at this crossing helps connect the physical landscape with the engineering decisions required to move traffic safely through it.
As part of the Historic Bridges of Colorado preservation effort, the Arkansas River Bridge has been identified by the Colorado Department of Transportation as a preservation-priority bridge. It was also selected as one of the pilot bridges for individual bridge management planning, reflecting its importance as a representative historic bridge and the need to guide future preservation, maintenance, and rehabilitation decisions.
Preserving the Arkansas River Bridge helps ensure that steel deck truss construction remains represented in Colorado’s historic bridge inventory. While many historic bridges are appreciated for their visual presence above the roadway, this bridge is significant for the structural system that carries the road across a challenging landscape. Its preservation broadens public understanding of bridge engineering and the variety of structural types that supported Colorado’s highway system.
The Arkansas River Bridge stands as a reminder that Colorado’s historic bridges are shaped by geography as much as technology. Its design responded to the demands of the Arkansas River corridor, and its continued preservation helps retain a significant example of the engineering solutions used to connect communities across Colorado’s varied terrain.
This bridge is one of the 23 preservation-priority bridges featured in Colorado Preservation, Inc.’s Historic Bridges of Colorado listing. View the full Historic Bridges of Colorado overview to learn more about the statewide preservation effort.