Rating:
13 votes

Big Elm Creek Bridge

Falls County, Texas

Photo 

Photo taken by Roger & Kathleen Schumacher

View larger version

BH Photo #244841

Map 

Facts 

Overview
Bowstring pony truss bridge over Big Elm Creek on CR 179
Location
Falls County, Texas
Status
Closed (Culvert to the East has washed out and is barricaded)
History
Built 1884
Builder
- King Bridge Co. of Cleveland, Ohio
Design
Cast and wrought iron Bowstring Pony truss
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 67.9 ft.
Total length: 70.9 ft.
Deck width: 11.8 ft.
Recognition
Eligible for the National Register of Historic Places
Approximate latitude, longitude
+31.42028, -96.73472   (decimal degrees)
31°25'13" N, 96°44'05" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
14/715328/3478400 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Odds
Average daily traffic (as of 2013)
55
Inventory numbers
TXNBI 090740AA0236001 (Texas bridge number on the National Bridge Inventory)
BH 33004 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of January 2016)
Overall condition: Poor
Superstructure condition rating: Imminent Failure (1 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Imminent Failure (1 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Imminent Failure (1 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 16.3 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

19th Century (6,905)
Bowstring pony truss (245)
Bowstring truss (476)
Built 1884 (161)
Built during 1880s (1,840)
Closed (2,575)
Falls County, Texas (27)
King Bridge Co. (327)
NR-eligible (4,013)
One-lane traffic (7,536)
 Owned by county (20,085)
Pony truss (15,719)
Span length 50-75 feet (9,623)
TRUSS Award 2013 (14)
Texas (2,366)
Total length 50-75 feet (8,983)
Truss (31,271)
Wooden deck (6,000)
Wrought Iron (381)

Update Log 

  • December 20, 2012: Updated by Nathan Holth: Added builder, removed 1900 construction date (date is unknown)
  • December 20, 2012: Photo imported by Luke Harden

Sources 

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Comments 

Big Elm Creek Bridge
Posted March 28, 2018, by M C Toyer (mctoyer [at] hotmail [dot] com)

Needed: Good home for historic Central Texas bridge

http://www.kwtx.com/content/news/Needed--Good-home-for-histo...

Big Elm Creek Bridge
Posted November 22, 2014, by Ashley (Ascotthendrix [at] hotmail [dot] com)

This bridge has one pillar underneath that is 3/4 rotted away. I don't think I will drive across it ever again.

Big Elm Creek Bridge
Posted December 21, 2012, by Robert Elder (robertelder1 [at] gmail [dot] com)

5 stars from me. This one would definitely be worth a visit!

Big Elm Creek Bridge
Posted December 21, 2012, by Jodi Christman (masterofchaos [at] comcast [dot] net)

Please photograph more of the bridge. It would be great to see more angles and details.

Big Elm Creek Bridge
Posted December 20, 2012, by Anonymous

I care! That's my 5-star vote! That bridge is gorgeous!

Big Elm Creek Bridge
Posted December 20, 2012, by Nathan Holth (form3 [at] historicbridges [dot] org)

I care! I don't think anyone knew that this was a rare King Iron Bridge Company bowstring because there previously were no photos on here of the bridge. The bridge likely dates to the 1870s.

Big Elm Creek Bridge
Posted December 20, 2012, by Roger & Kathleen Schumacher (kathleen_schumacher [at] yahoo [dot] com)

It's over 100 years old and no one cares!

Big Elm Creek Bridge
Posted December 18, 2012, by Roger & Kathleen Schumacher (kathleen_schumacher [at] Yahoo [dot] com)

BEST Bridge in Texas...it's listed wrong!!! It's a BOW bridge, and you can drive on it. Come quick, every old bridge in the area is being replaced.