Would You Cross This Abandoned Pike County MO Bridge?

A little over a hundred years ago, this bridge was for many the handiest way to cross the Salt River in the Ashburn area of Pike County, Missouri.

Now, it sits abandoned at the end of Pike 115, between Missouri 79 and the Mississippi River.

It's called the Eagle's Nest Bridge because, according to Bridgehunter.com, it was determined to be the best place to build a bridge between Eagle's Next Ford and Bullock's Ford. That was in 1904.

In those days, individual counties were responsible for building bridges, so the Pike County Court directed Buffalo and Salt River Townships to set aside funds, then set up a county fund to pay for the bridge. Cost - $11,390.

The Eagle's Nest Bridge, which opened to traffic in 1907, consisted of a 295-foot main span and two 40-foot approach spans, with a roadway 18-foot wide (which, for that time, wasn't bad).

The bridge remained in service until it was abandoned in 1979.

When you look at the Eagle's Nest Bridge from a distance, it doesn't look terrible. We've all driven over bridges that looked that bad or worse, especially on back roads.

However, when you get close, you can see that whatever the bridge deck consisted of is essentially gone.

So, in answer to the question, "Would you cross this abandoned bridge?" my answer would be - not without a personal floatation device.