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Description
Dewey Utah, October 14, 2022.

As far as I can tell, Dewey was never much of a settlement. They had a gas station once. But the bridge was important.

Originally named Kingsferry, it began in the 1880s and was named after Samuel King who built and operated a ferry across the Colorado River. Because of river conditions, the ferry was not always a reliable service and the Ferry had been know to sink on occasions.

In 1913, Grand County held a municipal bond election, and was able to raise $25,000 ($759,696.97 in 2023 dollars). The bridge was constructed by the Midland Bridge Co. of Kansas City, Missouri, and completed in April 1916.   It was designed to support the weight of six horses, three wagons and 9,000 pounds of freight and was the second longest suspension bridge west of the Mississippi.

It would later handle the weight of automobiles and small trucks, but over the years a lot of side mirrors were lost due to the fact that the bridge deck as only 8 feet wide.

I find it kind of amazing that the one lane bridge remained in operation until 1988 when a more modern bridge was built a short distance down stream. After that point it was used by hikers and occasionally by livestock.

In 2000 there was a restoration project to keep the bridge functional, but in April 2008, a seven-year-old boy accidentally started a fire in a nearby campground while playing with matches and the bridge was destroyed.

Description
Dewey Utah, October 14, 2022.

As far as I can tell, Dewey was never much of a settlement. They had a gas station once. But the bridge was important.

Originally named Kingsferry, it began in the 1880s and was named after Samuel King who built and operated a ferry across the Colorado River. Because of river conditions, the ferry was not always a reliable service and the Ferry had been know to sink on occasions.

In 1913, Grand County held a municipal bond election, and was able to raise $25,000 ($759,696.97 in 2023 dollars). The bridge was constructed by the Midland Bridge Co. of Kansas City, Missouri, and completed in April 1916.   It was designed to support the weight of six horses, three wagons and 9,000 pounds of freight and was the second longest suspension bridge west of the Mississippi.

It would later handle the weight of automobiles and small trucks, but over the years a lot of side mirrors were lost due to the fact that the bridge deck as only 8 feet wide.

I find it kind of amazing that the one lane bridge remained in operation until 1988 when a more modern bridge was built a short distance down stream. After that point it was used by hikers and occasionally by livestock.

In 2000 there was a restoration project to keep the bridge functional, but in April 2008, a seven-year-old boy accidentally started a fire in a nearby campground while playing with matches and the bridge was destroyed.