According to this article, it has been reopened!
https://www.kxan.com/news/local/williamson-county/work-compl...
This is one tough bridge. I've been on it on the train and walked under it many times. There's old photos shortly after construction of US 79 which show this bridge. I'll try to find them later. I've witnessed it being hit twice. Once by a backhoe on a trailer and a camper. The camper itself didn't sustain any damage, but it ripped the air conditioner clean off.
New interpretation of a "Swing span"
This bridge currently has a swing installed on it.
According to https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&c...
This was both NRHP listed and, allegedly, relocated after replacement
This bridge has been closed twice in the past year due to barge collisions. Perhaps there is some kind of navigation problem here.
Thank you Tony...it was minimal effort at best
Nice detective work as always Melissa!
I Believe I've found an article believe answers your question...it's from the The Brazosport Facts October 10 1958. I hope this helps
I wouldn't have the faintest idea of where, definitively, to go, and can only suggest trying Google.
But one piece of info that might help is that the NBI shows that the current span on Route 2004 crossing this bayou - listed as FM 2004 - was built in 1965. Maybe the straightening was done in conjunction with the construction of replacing the truss bridge?
I am trying to figure out what agency or company straighten Bastrop Bayou and when it was done. I have been in Brazoria county since 1941 as a baby. I remember fishing there but was not straighten at that time 1953, I do not think, (but that was a long time ago). However, in my high school days I remember the fresh dirt on the banks after leaving bridge at Hoskins Mound rd. all way to Lost Lake or Intercoastal Canal (the ditch).
Please see if you can provide me with information or where I can go to secure the information.
Thank you, bill
This was State Highway 64 in 1939. The contract for the underpass was awarded by the State Highway Commission, Minute Order# 16172, Project# FAGM-423-I, on 4/3/1939 to Austin Bridge Co & Austin Road Co for $80,376.86.
A change was authorized in Minute Order# 16705 providing for substitution of concrete sidewalks for the asphaltic concrete sidewalk shown by plans, estimated increase in cost $2,772.28.
Completion of bridge was 11/29/1939; Minute Order# 16956.
Thomas, I found an article from 1963 mentioning the abandoned barge. A young man drowned trying to swim to it. I could not find anything on the origin of the abandoned barge.
There used to be a partially sunken barge in the river near the bridge for years. I was a child at the time and I would see the barge in the river whenever my family and I would cross the bridge on the way to visit relatives nearby. The image has haunted me all these years and I really want to know the story behind it. Apparently it has been removed since then.
Probably spent at least 500K on an ugly slab to carry 30 cars a day... Could have rehabbed the trusses for a fraction of that. Then to insult to injury they built the new pos next to the historic one and then demoed it.
Love it
Thanks for the updated pics too! Still looks good 8 years later!
Only been 8 years, but you're welcome.😁
Luke... good idea, I could hide some speakers playing it somewhere... if nothing else it would buy some time since Im sure they would shoot at that noise before me!
Blast this loud enough and they might leave you alone:
Sing out "The stars at night are big and bright ..." or dress up like Walker, Texas Ranger to get on the good side of those gun totin' Texans.
Saw it on T.V.
Nathan, better trade that yellow safety vest in for a bullet-proof vest!
Royce, how did you visit this bridge? The only west access road has sign that says and I quote "No Trespassing Violators Will Be Shot" and being this is Texas I take that seriously. When you have to do something extraordinarily to visit a bridge please consider sharing this info. Unless it wasn't like this when you visited in which case I'm warning everyone here.
Here's some photographs and text for you to grab, Melissa. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/6136713/
It's a good sign that they actually poured a foundation to set it on... Looks like they have a plan for it!
Some pictures I took the evening of July 14, 2019. The old bridge is sitting next to the road, and the new bridge completed. If anyone finds out what the fate of the old bridge will be, please post it here. Hopefully it will be moved to a local public park, etc.
Aerial imagery from HistoricAerials confirms Clark's supposition.
The 1959 topo shows the Hart Spur off the RI starting to the NW. A road continues along the alignment to this crossing. By the look of it, this was a railroad bridge and the pile trestle approaches were replaced with the concrete beams. The pony girder may be older.
Love the decay/ruins
Lots of info on the category page:
http://bridgehunter.com/category/tag/ransome-rebar/
This was the first design for rebar. The twist provided grip so that the bar stayed bonded to the concrete under tension. Other companies developed methods to roll a pattern into the bar which proved easier than adding the twist.
Interesting, I didn't know that twisted square bar was a thing. The square bar that I've seen has been deformed but not twisted. How big did they make it?
Vance - Good call. I've got documentation somewhere but ca. 1915-20 was the build date. There are a couple of similar spans on the original Bankhead Highway route over Mountain Creek south from these that were completed ca 1920-21.
It looks like Ransome rebar, in which case the 1935 build date is probably 20 years too late.
Historic Truss Bridge over the West Fork Trinity River. Trinity Trails passes right underneath the bridge. One of the best scenic spots in the city to capture trains crossing the river.
Easy access. There isn't many operational 100 year old bridges in DFW, only a handful still remain. Great place for train spotting.
I checked it out in close detail. First picture is South of the gravel trail and there isn't much to look at but there is a Truss Bridge over the Trinity River is still there to the north if you follow the trail .
I always loved this bridge and how the woods were up close to it and reached over it, almost like a tunnel. My wife and I took our engagement photos on it, and I got some nice photos of my truck and Mustang on it. I'm not sure what will happen to the old structure now that it has been removed and a concrete bridge has been installed in its place. The iron is currently sitting in a field next to the new bridge. Sad to see it removed.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/29%C2%B055'45.0%22N+96%C2%...
looks like the bridge was closed to traffic in December 2017, no clue if that's still the case or if they reopened it.
Discovered that this bridge was a classic Penn Bridge Company Whipple... sad it was destroyed by a drunk.
These two spans share the same unusual Verts...
My fiancee is watching the golf match play championship from the Austin country club and they are showing alot of shots of this bridge.My fiancee brought it to my attention and i just wanted to mention this.I don't even like golf.
The covered up date cutout in photo 18 seems to indicate the span was moved from somewhere else. I’ve seen this on other relocated trusses with cutouts
This bridge was damaged by a fire overnight last night. Reading comments online, this is the second fire to damage it. Photo taken by Coupland VFD.
This is a railroad bridge. Same photo, many others, and lots of details here:
Hi, have this postcard that reportedly is building the Jim Ned bridge. Could you help me on this to authenticate this is the 1st Jim Ned bridge. Many Thanks...dan whatley
https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/deerpark/news/article/Cit...
"The fate of a decaying historical Pratt truss bridge at the Battleground Golf Course is in question as Deer Park’s city council wrestles with whether to spend money to repair it.
Depending on how much repairs would change the fundamental structure of the bridge — and the will of the council members to pay for them and possibly future maintenance — the bridge may not retain its historical status, City Councilwoman Sherry Garrison said."
More at the link.
Man I wish They widened the Baytown Tunnel from 2 to 4 lanes instead of Replacing it to a 8 lane Cable stayed bridge
There's already an entry for it at that location.: https://bridgehunter.com/tx/harris/bh49528/
This entry is for the original location
Current location of this bridge: 29.696398, -95.137191
My dad was a railroad engineer for HB&T until his death in 1966. I seem to remember a roundhouse on Canal St. At that time, HB&T was affiliated with AT&SF, and Mopac. Since we were relatives, we rode Santa Fe passenger trains for free.
I have very vivid memories of the Sunset Limited and the California Special. I remember the smell of the cl
ub car. Wonderful memories.
This bridge is now gone - replaced with a new bridge as part of I-35 widening project in area.
This bridge has been this way for a very long time. I was trying to explore this bridge years ago, but finding a place to stop isn't easy. I took the attached photo in 2010.
This bridge had a plaque denoting when it was constructed, but when I last drove by, it appeared to have fell out or been taken. I'd say it is fairly significant since it carried traffic over what was the major north/south highway in Texas.
Was open to cars on previous visits to mason but we found it blocked and pedestrian only as of November 2018
The 1928 date on this one is likely only for the approaches. This style of truss has been seen on other MKT lines in Missouri and dates to the late 1890s.
The abutments on each side of the creek are still standing (3 total). The tour guide at the Interurban Railway Museum in Downton Plano told us about this bridge. You can see the abutments from Spring Creek Trail near 911 location sign SC 113. Park in the parking lot at 101 W Renner Rd (see Google Maps) for very close access to trail. The map location from this site is accurate.
This vertical lift bridge was moved & put in place over Cedar Bayou in 1967. It was built by Virginia Bridge & Iron Company in 1912 over the St. Francis River at Cody, Lee County, Arkansas. I have searched extensively to find pictures of the bridge at its original location in Arkansas but find none. Looking for help with my search. Thanks! Attached is of the builders plaque and where the plaque is located.
here's that picture of the sky view on google earth
The bridge was definitely definitely built during the 80's. You can see from the sky view on Google Earth using the historical timeline view going back and comparing the 1989 view to the 1978 view that it was part of a road that was built during that time period. The road doesn't even show up on the historical aerial views in google earth until the 1989 photo.
Current photo of bridge relocated in 1993 to private property in Cedar Hill, Dallas County, Texas.
TXDOT photo showing recent flooding.
Details on the Flooding including footage can be found here. Warning: May be too graphic!
Link: https://bridgehunterschronicles.wordpress.com/2018/10/17/flo...
Loved this bridge painted Yellow... Wish they had left it that color!
Talked with a spokesman for TxDOT who relayed that the old bridge is being rehabilitated with a new deck and paint and will re-open for south bound traffic in Spring of 2019.
9/13/18
The bridge was rebuilt in 1944 and the piling were driven in by Herman Baass of Baass Brothers of VICTORIA Texas.
They received the contract due to the fact that Herman Baass had a pile driving skid rig large enough to cantilever the bent spacing. The bridge was built one bent at a time and the pile driving rig was then slid forward to drive the the next set of piling.
The piling were spliced due to the overall length of pile depth approximately 90’.
There are only a few piling left that are visible.
Allen Baass
A Baass construction & supply.
VICTORIA, Texas
I think a lot of the confusion over the 1988 design comes from the document the 2011 construction manager, BNSF Engineer, & the Engineer from the contractor published / presented.
They refer to the 1988 Bascule as a Scherzer. At the same time they note it was Designed & Built by American Bridge.
https://www.arema.org/files/library/2013_Conference_Proceedi...
By the way: The entire causeway is OWNED by the County of Galveston. It is leased to BNSF until 2110.
Jason, thank you for the information!
Last revenue service over this bridge was around 1990, after the south end was severed the Santa Fe obtained trackage rights from Dallas on the Missouri Pacific Railroad to access their customers around Chalk Hill, there was one customer left at the south end of this line near Cockrell Hill Rd. Around 1994 scrap thieves were stealing the rail and hardware from this section of track and were arrested when an observant person noticed them removing the rail from this bridge.
It was a very tall wooden trestle and one of the support structures was in the middle of Coombs Creek Rd. so the road split around each side of it. This bridge was severely burned and partially collapsed around 1986 ending rail traffic north from Westmoreland yard. For a few more years the Santa Fe came down from Chalk Hill (via Missouri Pacific trackage rights) to service one last customer north of Cockrell Hill Rd.
Brad, thanks for finding correct information, I've modified this entry to be for a long-demolished bridge and moved the postcard to the NB entry.
Actually this bridge was not replaced in 1964. When the new parallel bridge opened in 1958, this bridge (causeway) was closed and modified. This span originally had a drawbridge. The drawbridge was removed and a high span approximating the newer parallel span was built over the intercoastal waterway.
It was reopened in 1964 as the Northbound span and the 1958 span was the new Southbound span.
https://galveston.newspaperarchive.com/galveston-tribune/196...
Amanda Joy Mata. this may be bridge in your photo
Thank you for your work
Hello.
I am the guy who assisted in getting the Newcastle Bridge listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The history of relocation is a little confusing to me here. All I know is per HAER, this bridge was moved to Travis County, and I found a bridge in Satellite imagery that appears to match the location described by HAER.
Unfortunately it appears to be behind a gated community or something. http://bridgehunter.com/tx/travis/bh82418/
Some of the original brick deck was reused on the bridge and nearby.
https://yourblvd.com/blog/revisit/rediscovering-yale-st-brid...
This bridge has indeed been replaced:
https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2016/12/12/inner-lo...
This bridge has been demolished and replaced. Looks identical though
Looking good in the summer of 2018!
According to http://phorum.dallashistory.org/read.php?2,92080,92088, a through truss, and based on https://books.google.com/books?id=zo5MAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA414&dq=M..., built 1923.
The approximate coordinates of the NTTC bridge over the original Mountain Creek channel are: 32.746831, -96.926902. Road construction and flooding has resulted in the formation of relief channels in the area.
From Dallas the NTTC ran along the median of Jefferson Blvd to the western city limits. After the NTTC ceased operations Jefferson Blvd was extended westward along the abandoned NTTC right of way to the city of Grand Prairie. The dump through the bottoms was about 20 feet high. The postcard view may be this location.
The 1942 newspaper photo is of the Jefferson Blvd bridge which was built to replace the NTTC bridge. Best guess was originally a steel truss or girder but I do not have a photo or details.
M.C., do you know the GPS coords for the actual bridge over Mountain Creek?
Apparently this bridge is going to become a Texas landmark, albeit with the unfortunate misnomer of being named for a stream well to the west that was crossed by a truss, according to http://phorum.dallashistory.org/read.php?2,92080,92088
Yes, the bridge in those pictures is near 32.715912,-96.881384 on Google maps
M.C., it's a DART/BNSF (Ex-ATSF/GCSF) line to the south
This bridge is not the same as the listed bridge which is a concrete arch over Coombs Creek
Yours is a steel stringer on timber bents over a road or walking trail. Do you have the location of the one you photo'd? Is it an auto bridge or the abandoned railroad spur?
Here are recent photos of the Coombs Creek Bridge taken in 2018.
This was not a railroad bridge. The only railroad into Paint Rock TX was a line from Miles TX which crossed the river some distance west of here. The old pilings for the RR crossing are at (Google Map) coordinates 31.517182, -99.944371. The bridge supports shown in the article are likely from the old US 83 highway bridge; both it and the railroad crossing were washed out in a major flood in 1936.
The bridge has been demolished. They are in the process of building a new bridge.
high definition photo of this bridge, fully restored, is available on Canadian River page of Wikipedia. Someone more familiar with this site can probably upload, be sure to give credit of this pic to photographer Bill Hathorn: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_River#/media/File:Woo...
New bridge being constructed just east of this bridge
Sad to say, we visited this bridge in May of 2018 and its days are numbered. A replacement bridge is being constructed immediately to the east, and this bridge will be removed. It is not known whether it will be eligible for "adoption" and removal to another location.
The Historic Bridge Foundation stated that the bridge came from County Road 469 over Cottonwood Creek in Hillsboro County. That might refer to this bridge: http://bridgehunter.com/tx/hill/91100AA0482001/
The Historic Bridge Foundation provided information indicating that this bridge was relocated to this location ca. 2005.
Historic, considering it was bypassed in 1950
? Significance?
I visited this bridge on 5-25-18. It is currently closed to vehicular traffic and only open to pedestrians.
