Off the Editor’s Spike

by Darryl Wilkinson

Traveling south on Highway 13 you’ll eventually pass by the bridge replacement work underway across the Missouri River. You can see the work rising from the river bank. A raised roadway shows the new path to the railroad at Henrietta, running roughly parallel to the east of the existing highway pavement.

The best travel game we know is speculating where the new road will go on north of the railroad. We talk about it for miles on each drive by. But we just don’t see exactly how the new road will link back into Highway 13, at least not now.

Once completed, the new river bridge means an easy bypass eluding Henrietta and Lexington. Of course, it also means someday we won’t have to cross that old Lexington bridge anymore, unless by choice.

Most people I know seem to hate that old, narrow bridge. I like to think my truck-driving days temper my anxieties about crossing the bridge. If you think the two bridge-framed lanes make a tight fit for cars, think about two approaching tandem axle dump trucks (…just pull in your mirrors and don’t close your eyes). It must be even worse for bus drivers carrying a pile of kids instead of a pile of rock!

The Lexington bridge commands attention no matter what you drive. The rust and curb decay make any sane driver wonder “What am I doing here?”

I’ve read in a recent issue of “Missouri Historical Review” about the construction of the Lexington bridge and the Waverly bridge. Both were built in 1925 but by different construction companies. The construction details in this account prove tedious, as historical accounts can often be. But two messages distinctively stand out.

First, the excitement that the then new Lexington bridge aroused. The Review reprinted several local newspaper accounts pronouncing all kinds of prosperous predictions for that area, particularly for the towns of Richmond and Lexington, once the bridge was built. The project was (and still is) significant but could hardly make good on all the hyperbole. Some of it seems humorous from this advantage in time, a reminder to this editor not to get too carried away promoting a cause no matter how just.

Secondly, and more importantly, is the cost. And I don’t mean in dollars. Tell me, how many lives would you guess were lost in 1925 during the construction of the Missouri River bridge at Lexington?

According to The Review, 11 workers died… 11! …just so we wouldn’t have to use a ferry or drive a few extra miles out of our way. That amazes and reminds me, again, about how often I take for granted the sacrifices made by others for you and me. When I think of the Lexington bridge, I think of the many late-Sunday night rides back to Gallatin after visiting family at Odessa or Warrensburg, when the kids would see if anyone could hold their breath all the way to the other side. Not the sacrificed 11.

Make no mistake, I’m anxious for the new river bridge, still a year or more away from completion — maybe even impatient. But building a bridge over the Missouri River is no small matter. A little knowledge about what went on before sure makes a difference on how a guy looks at things.