Springfield Bridge, Bowstring truss bridge in Beaverfork Lake Park, Conway, Arkansas, United States
Springfield Bridge is an iron crossing that spans a water body and now connects two sections of Beaverfork Park for pedestrians. The structure features tubular wrought iron trusses arranged in a bowstring arch configuration that provides both strength and visual character.
The Springfield Bridge was built circa 1871–74 to carry a highway over Cadron Creek east of Springfield, in rural Faulkner County. It is the oldest documented highway bridge in Arkansas and the state's only documented bowstring arch bridge. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. After years of neglect, fire damage and vandalism at its remote site, the Faulkner County Historical Society began a relocation drive in 2015, and the bridge was moved to Beaverfork Lake Park in 2017.
The bridge's name comes from Springfield, the Faulkner County community it served across Cadron Creek. In 2015 the Faulkner County Historical Society began a drive to move it into a local trail network, and the span was relocated to Beaverfork Lake Park in 2017. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
The bridge now stands in Beaverfork Lake Park, north of Conway off Arkansas Highway 25; it was moved there in 2017 after decades at Cadron Creek east of Springfield. Look for the stone abutments and the 188-foot (57 m) span within the park rather than over a road.
Springfield Bridge is the only documented bowstring arch bridge in Arkansas and the state's oldest documented highway bridge. Its tubular metal top chords rise 15 feet (4.6 m) above the bottom chords, a profile a visitor can trace along the 188-foot (57 m) span. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
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