Powell Bridge, Pedestrian bridge in Powell, Missouri, United States

Powell Bridge is a single-lane, pin-connected Pratt through truss of wrought iron with a square arch, its 140-foot main span joined to a 70-foot Pratt pony truss approach, giving a total length over 210 feet. The roadway is 12 feet wide, the deck is timber over steel stringers, and the substructure consists of concrete abutments, wing walls and a steel-reinforced pier cap.

In June 1913 R.H. Buck petitioned the McDonald County court for a bridge over Big Sugar Creek, replacing the unreliable Bentonville Hollow Ford. County surveyor W. Mose Lett chose the site and drew the plans; the East St. Louis Bridge Co. built the superstructure and Fred L. Appleby of Kansas City the concrete substructure, for a total of $4,000. Construction ran from 1914 to 1915, and the bridge opened to traffic on August 16, 1915.

The National Register of Historic Places designation of Powell Bridge underscores its role in the development of transportation systems in Missouri.

The bridge is now a pedestrian crossing only; a two-lane replacement opened beside it in 2015, so vehicles no longer use the 1915 span. The Powell Historical Preservation Society, which has owned it since April 2014, replaced damaged decking and added pedestrian improvements, with seating and flower planters planned. Access is from the road beside the new bridge near Powell.

The bridge is one of only two Pratt truss bridges ever built in McDonald County; the other, in Anderson, has since been demolished. Its 140-foot main span and 70-foot pony approach give a total length over 210 feet, with a 12-foot roadway. Local sycamore logs were hauled by wagon and horse team for scaffolding, and sawyer Mr. Cowan donated every other load.