To step back in time and enjoy a summer’s day, travel Swinging Bridges Road. The road connects Route 42 in Miller County, west of Brumley, and State Road A in Camden County that leads to Highway 54 in Linn Creek.
To find wildlife, a good fishing hole, abundant natural scenery, or a peaceful place for a picnic… this is the roadway to follow. This one-of-a-kind rural road will fill the day with serendipities. The bridges are (for the most part) surrounded by Missouri State Park woodlands. Primitive and equestrian campsites are nearby.
The road is best known for hosting two historic swinging bridges that were built in 1931. Small streams became much larger as water filled the Lake of the Ozarks due to the construction of Bagnell Dam. Union Electric commissioned these two bridges to be built by Joseph Dice of Warsaw, Mo.
The larger Auglaize Bridge has a span of four hundred feet of clattering wood planks to cross over the Grand Glaize Creek. The smaller Mill Creek Bridge has a span of steel planks over Mill Creek of 125 feet.
Joe Dice built over thirty bridges in central Missouri. Historical data agree in regard to his method of bridge building. Mr. Dice first learned about bridge construction in 1895 when he worked on the Stockton Bridge. All of his bridges were fourteen feet wide and were made of wood, wire, and steel.
He never used a blueprint. His unique technique was to use twine to determine the distance and shape of a bridge. The tools of his trade consisted of men, mules, horses, and a stump puller. Local lumber and creek gravel were used to mix cement.
It is said that Joe could tell if the bridge tension was right by the “feel” of the wire.
Upon completion the Mill Creek Bridge contained twenty thousand pounds of steel, forty miles of wire, and three thousand feet of lumber. The cost was three thousand dollars. Today, about thirty cars per day cross over the bridges on Swinging Bridges Road.
The shortest road distance to reach the bridges is off of Route 42. The longer and more primitive route is to travel Swinging Bridges Road from State Road A.
The highway department began to require blueprints for bridge construction. Mr. Dice retired as a bridge builder at that time.
Take the time to travel this historic pathway… and, take a camera.

Contact this reporter at norine@lakesunleader.com