BRIDGES OF CUSTER COUNTY

Have you ever taken the time to view the beautiful bridges we have here in Custer County? Have you ever considered why or when these architectural landmarks came to life? Let’s take a closer look at some of our most well-known bridges in the area.

Beaver Creek Bridge

This deck arch bridge built in 1929 of concrete and steel is 225 feet long and sits 115 feet above the canyon floor located in Wind Cave National Park. This is the largest and most complex reinforced concrete bridge of its size in the state. It also is South Dakota’s only surviving open-spandrel concrete bridge. It is also only one of three "most significant bridges" in the Rocky Mountain region of the National Park System. Construction of this bridge was made possible through the efforts of Peter Norbeck, U.S. Senator from South Dakota. Senator Norbeck was also involved with developing Custer State Park and scenic highways within the Black Hills.

Pig Tail Bridge

The bridge is 160 feet long and 20 feet wide. It was built in 1930 to help develop South Dakota Highway 87 located in Wind Cave National Park, also known as a spiral bridge. It was constructed by the South Dakota Department of Transportation.

Pigtail Bridges

Many thought it couldn’t be done, but Cecil Clyde Gideon forged ahead with the design of the Pigtail Bridges in 1932. Gideon and Senator Norbeck laid out the Iron Mountain Road, the tunnels that frame Mount Rushmore, and the bridges. Norbeck’s rustic vision had complex engineering problems with bridge surfaces that were neither straight, level nor flat. The logs used were selected from nearby, cut to fit, seasoned and then put in place. Gideon’s vision became a reality and people were able to enjoy even more of the Black Hills scenic beauty.

 French Creek Bridge

The largest stone double-arched bridge replaced a timber bridge south of Blue Bell Lodge built by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1936-39 in the Custer State Park.

Stockade Lake Bridge

Originally constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in April 1937 the South Dakota National Guard Completed the bridge in August 1988. This bridge is 76 feet, 4 inches long, and 26 feet wide over 30 feet above the spillway by two supports. Stockade Lake Bridge is constructed of Douglas fir and can withstand loads up to 100 tons.

We even had a bridge right here in Custer! In the 1940s, Highway 16 went underneath the old railroad tracks (current Mickelson Trail), and in later years, the train bridge was dismantled and then that area was filled in and leveled out.

Mickelson Trail Bridge.

Next time you take a drive, not only through the Black Hills, and come across a bridge. Take a moment, look at the details of that amazing landmark, and appreciate it, as most bridges are a work of art!

Groundhog Day is a tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2 of every year, featuring a rodent meteorologist, Phil, is celebrated for the first time at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania in 1887. The superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and sees its shadow, it will retreat to its den and winter will go on for six more weeks; if it does not see its shadow, spring will arrive early. The ceremony at Punxsutawney in western Pennsylvania has become the most frequently attended ceremony. It’s what’s known as a “cross-quarter” day, meaning it falls at the midpoint between one season and another.

Groundhogs are also known as woodchucks; groundhogs belong to a group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. They grow up to 25 inches long and can live for 10 years in captivity. (According to legend, Punxsutawney Phil is more than 125 years old thanks to the magical punch he imbibes every summer.)

Groundhogs spend the winter hibernating in their burrows, significantly reducing their metabolic rate and body temperature; by February, they can lose as much as half their weight. When they’re out and about, the bristly rodents eat succulent plants, wild berries and insects—and they don’t mind helping themselves to garden vegetables or agricultural crops.

How often is Punxsutawney Phil right?

Sadly, the groundhog is often wrong when it comes to his predictions.

Since making his first prediction in 1887, Punxsutawney Phil has been right 39% of the time, according to the Stormfax Weather Almanac however, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Information looked at the most recent predictions and found from 2012-21, Phil was right 40% of the time when comparing the national temperature averages. 

Do you believe in Phil’s predictions? Are you hoping for an early spring, boy we are!