Old Appleton bridge restoration effort aims to reunite town

Two decades after a flash flood tore apart Old Appleton's historic bridge, a contractor is preparing to restore the iron truss structure as a pedestrian walkway that will span Apple Creek and reconnect the two sides of town.

The Old Appleton Town Board has awarded a $519,000 contract to A.E. Simpson Construction of Scott City.

Mayor Kevin Amschler said federal money from the Missouri Department of Transportation will pay 80 percent of the cost. Private donations and money from the town's road fund will pay the local share.

The iron-truss bridge should be back in use before the end of the year, said Art and Rene Dellamano, who live on the Perry County side of the creek next to where the bridge once stood. The Dellamanos and their son, Jan, have spearheaded the campaign to restore the old bridge ever since the devastating flood in 1982, which twisted the span off its base.

Construction work should be completed by late November, Art Dellamano said Wednesday.

Residents in the population-82 town would like to see the restored bridge placed on the National Register of Historic Places, Amschler said.

Mark Birchler, an engineer from St. Louis who has served on the bridge restoration committee for 18 years, said when restored the span will be the oldest wrought-iron bridge in its original location in Missouri.

"There are older iron bridges in Missouri, but they have been moved," he said.

The bridge was originally built in 1879 at a cost of $2,500.

A reconstructed truss from the old bridge that once spanned Apple Creek in Old Appleton remains on the north side.

Birchler said the project wouldn't be financially feasible without the willingness of Simpson Construction to provide some in-kind contributions to help meet the local match needed to get the federal transportation money.

LaSalle Iron Works in St. Louis was involved in past efforts to repair the steel structure. Two 30-foot sections of the bridge have been housed at that business for years, Birchler said.

They will now be removed by Simpson Construction, which plans to renovate those spans at its site in Scott City.

The main span, 103 feet in length, rests in a field near Apple Creek.

Town officials and residents are thrilled the old bridge, which once carried pedestrian and vehicle traffic, will finally be restored and placed on upgraded piers that will be raised to guard against future flooding.

"Hopefully, it will reunite the two sides of the town again," said Amschler. "A lot of older folks remember walking cross the bridge to meet each other and talk."

mbliss@semissourian.com

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