Lake of the Ozarks Swinging Bridges

The Swinging Bridges at the Lake of the Ozarks area are among the most remarkable of the man-made attractions in this area, besides the lake itself. Incorporated into the local State Parks, the swinging bridges are referred to as such because they are built on tall upright piers, with the actual bridge passing over these upright piers, thence making what are for all intents and purposes ‘swinging’ bridges.

The Swinging bridges at the Lake of the Ozarks were designed when the original low bridges that existed on the tributaries of river Osage (on which the lake is founded) got covered by water from the lake when it was built.  This is when the need to build higher bridges, which at the time could be achieved through the pier-suspended design called swinging bridges. Legend has it that the construction of these bridges involved extensive use of cables to pull the existing piers into an upright position, which had first been built on the ground lying horizontally.   

One of the most remarkable of the swinging bridges is the suspension bridge across the Grand Auglaize Creek, which like the rest of the swinging bridges at Lake of the Ozarks is built of wood. This is an amazing work of engineering genius; but even more remarkable is the story behind it, considering it was designed by a man who had left school before reaching the fifth grade, his name is Joseph Dice. How Joseph Dice and his men managed to put up a bridge over the Grand Auglaize Creek way back in 1929 is a subject worth studying, especially taking into consideration the body of water the bridge crosses over, and the terrain of the area on which it is built. Added to this is the fact that the bridge of the Grand Auglaize Creek, like the rest of the Swinging Bridges at Lake Ozarks was for all intents and purposes were built with ‘mule-power’ being the only form of machine used. Getting to the Swinging Bridges at Lake of the Ozarks shouldn’t be too hard, as the area at which the bridge is located is just about 10 miles from the Lake of the Ozarks proper, and the road to take is Highway 42-18.

Other things to enjoy on a day trip to the area in which the bridges are located is the remarkable serenity of the area, picnicing, fishing and frogging – and even camping in the area, or even just relaxing at one of the quiet rest area’s.