The Historic R. M. Ruthven Bridge at Cotter
By Anne Ramey

What's the big deal?

When it was completed in 1930
by the Bateman Contracting Company,
it was -- and may still be --

The world's largest
Marsh Rainbow Arch Bridge

(What's that?!!)

"An aesthetically pleasing design popularized by
James Marsh (1856-1936) between 1915 and 1930."¹

"Marsh actively promoted the technology and became responsible
for the vast majority of rainbow arch bridges
built in the Midwest and Great Plains."¹

Marsh patented the reinforced-concrete
rainbow arch design in 1912.

How'd they do that?

They built towers at each end to hold a
"cableway" for transportation of materials.

Gravel: 9,000 yards
Sand: 5,000 yards
Cement: 60,000 sacks
Structural steel: 800,000 pounds
Reinforcing steel: 825,000 pounds

They worked
around the clock
for a year beginning
November 17, 1929.
The dedication celebration was
held on November 11-12, 1930.

Herbert Messick wrote a poem for the dedication that concludes:

"My friends, in your celebration,
Drop a tear for the lives that were lost.
And remember the money that built the bridge
Was the very least of the cost;
On it were spent two precious lives
For which no one can repay;
Remember them, and the workman's toil
On your Celebration Day."

Cliff Williams and John Harley were killed in
separate accidents during the bridge's construction.

Recognition of the R.M. Ruthven Bridge includes:

Listing on the National Register of Historic Places , "the Nation's official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation" (www.nr.nps.gov); designation as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark given to recognize "exceptionally meritorious achievements" and "civil engineerings' greatest accomplishments" and to "preserve our rich heritage for future generations" (www.asce.org) and listing on the Historic American Engineering Record established by the National Park Service, the Library of Congress, and the American Society of Civil Engineers to document important engineering events.

¹Jackson, D.C. (1988). Great American Bridges and Dams. Washington, D.C.: The Preservation Press.