Facts
- Overview
- Through truss bridge over Brazos River on FM 521 in Brazoria
- Location
- Brazoria County, Texas
- Status
- Open to traffic
- History
- Built 1939
- Design
- Through truss
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 222.1 ft.
Total length: 1,124.1 ft.
Deck width: 24.0 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 16.0 ft.
- Recognition
- Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on June 14, 1991
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +29.05433, -95.55714 (decimal degrees)
29°03'16" N, 95°33'26" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Inventory numbers
- NRHP 91000783 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
BH 32788 (Bridgehunter.com ID) - Inspection
- Average daily traffic (as of 2000)
- 10,200
Comments
The Brazos River Bridge at Brazoria, commonly known as "Brazoria Bridge," is a 1124-foot concrete and steel structure containing three Parker truss spans. It was constructed in 1939, and it's still in use today, carrying State Highways SH332 and FM521. It's a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, and it's listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: http://tinyurl.com/ynf3om
Satellite photo: http://tinyurl.com/y9hpu6
Topo map: http://tinyurl.com/ydc9to
Texas Landmark Register: http://tinyurl.com/onbpx
National Register: http://tinyurl.com/mphf4
The Texas Department of Transportation plans to construct a new four-lane highway bridge between the Brazos River Bridge and Union Pacific Railroad Bridge located 300 feet south. The Brazos River Bridge will remain standing to provide access to the picnic area and park east of river.
The railroad bridge was originally built ca 1907 by the St. Louis, Brownsville, and Mexico Railway Company. It's a center-pivot swinging bridge, theoretically capable of pivoting to allow river traffic to pass, although it has not been opened for several years. The St.L.B.& M.R.R. merged with the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company in 1956, which in turn merged with the Union Pacific in 1997. The railroad operates today as the Union Pacific, which still uses the bridge for revenue traffic. A dozen trains a day pass across it, most of which are drawn by UPRR locomotives, although BNSF locomotives are sometimes seen.