Category: History of the bridge

Cotter Bridge Under Construction 1929

Railroad Bridge Construction over the White River at Cotter Arkansas. Photo circa October of 1903. “Leaving Cotter the road crosses the White river by means of a steel and wooden bridge and immediately plunges into the depths of a tunnel, the first on the line: from the tunnel the train emerges to cross another bridge, a double-decker. Over that, a deep cut is entered, after which another high bridge is crossed and it is in this manner that the road proceeds through the historic Ozarks.” Baxter Bulletin-Mountain Home, Arkansas • Fri, Mar 3, 1905. Page 1

Cotter Bridge Fun Fact #103

Did you know the Cotter Bridge is the longest concrete rainbow bridge in the US? Rainbow bridges are so named because of the beautiful rainbow shape of the arches. The bridge was designed by James Marsh who pioneered the use of the majestic rainbow concrete arch bridges. It was open in 1930 with the offical name of R.M. Ruthven Bridge (Mr. Ruthven was the County Judge at the time). If you are a history buff, check out this article: https://ascelibrary.org/doi/pdf/10.1061/ciegag.0001119