Good Morning All, I am a Springfield,MO architectural historian interested in railroad history who serves on the Landmarks Board for the City of Springfield. I thought someone would have posted to this group regarding the Jefferson Avenue Footbridge but one of our last local Frisco landmarks and train spotting locations in Springfield in in danger of being removed. The bridge was closed in March of 2016 for an inspection and has been found to be "structurally deficient". A study has been completed and can be found at the link below. City of Springfield Report http://www.springfieldmo.gov/footbridge Built in 1902 the Jefferson Avenue Footbridge was built by the city to stop residents of Springfield from crossing the busy North Yard near Commercial Street. Before the bridge was built the railroad threatened to move their shops to Monett unless something was done about the dangerous situation. It is said to be one of the longest if not longest pedestrian bridges in the country over railroad tracks and I have been told was one of the best train spotting locations in the Midwest. Brief History http://www.ozarksalive.com/jefferson-avenue-footbridge-connects-both-places-and-history/ A petition has been created to show public support. If any of you wouldn't mind signing or sharing this information with others who would be interested this would help show public support for the project. As headquarters for the Frisco, Springfield has lost far to many of our icons linked to the early days of the railroad. Petition https://www.change.org/p/admin-hist...otbridge-by-supporting-a-complete-restoration Thank you! -Paden Chambers Springfield Missouri
Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Paden. We will be sure to support this by at least signing the petition.
