MISSISSIPPI BRIDGE COULD BECOME YOURS

Want to own a bridge?

If you are in the market, the state has a deal for you.

An advertisement for the Mississippi River bridge at Cape Girardeau appears in the September-October issue of Historic Preservation, the magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The bridge is to be torn down and removed once a new bridge over the Mississippi is built. Before that happens, the bridge is being offered at no cost to anyone whose proposal for its use is approved by the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department.

The department is required to offer the bridge to the public for reuse because it is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Proposals for reusing the bridge must be tasteful and in line with its historic nature.

The department will dismantle the bridge, leaving the rest of the removal to the taker.

An ad for the bridge also is scheduled to appear in the Missouri Transportation Bulletin.

A legal notice of the bridge being offered "for adaptive reuse" will appear Sept. 5 and 18 in the Southeast Missourian.

UP FOR GRABS

CAPE GIRARDEAU COUNTY, MO. "Mississippi River Bridge" at Cape Girardeau available for adaptive reuse. NRHP eligible. Built 1927-28 by American Bridge Co. The 4,744-foot bridge has six Parker through truss spans, two cantilever through truss channel spans, and two plate girder approach spans. It can be match-marked, dismantled, and stored for further handling of party accepting ownership. Contact Randall Dawy, Missouri Highway and Transportation Department, P.O. Box 270, Jefferson City, Missouri 65102, or phone (314) 526-3591, by Oct. 13, 1995.