Blue River Highway Bridge, Old U.S. Highway 70, southwest of Blue, Oklahoma
U.S. Highway 70 parallels the route of the St. Louis & San Francisco (Frisco Railroad). Prior to the creation of the Federal Highway System in 1926, this route was referred to as the Bankhead Highway, a segment of the Rand McNally Auto Trails system. The Bankhead Highway traversed the southern United States, beginning in Washington D.C. and traveling through Atlanta, Memphis, Dallas, and Phoenix to San Diego. West of Little Rock, Arkansas, the Bankhead Highway ran in two parallel routes. The northerly route followed U.S. 70 from Little Rock to Roswell, New Mexico.
The highway bridge in the photos below is located along a portion of the old U.S. Highway 70, whose route travels south of the current route between Bokchito and Hugo. This bridge was constructed in 1921 by the General Construction Company of St. Louis under the direction of the Federal Aid Project. During 1921, 162 miles of highway were constructed by the state under the Federal Aid and 32 miles were built by counties. The total estimated cost was $4,847,000.
A similar bridge was constructed over Caddo Creek, east of the town of Blue (photos below).