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.
NBI lists this as Bennett St, but it's actually Old Falls Rd
Looks to me like this bridge replaced a previous girder bridge, probably in the past decade
It's nice to see that the campground is making use of it, thus helping with preservation.
That helps, a lot. Thanks.
Walter,
No need to apologize. Without your pictures we'd have nothing to discuss.
The thickness of the members usually has more to do with how much load the bridge is designed to carry. A Whipple is also known as a double intersection Pratt. This simply means the tension members (the really thin pieces) diagonally cross two panels. On a Pratt, these diagonal tension members simply cross one panel (they don't pass a vertical element).
In your pictures, you can see that the thin diagonal pieces run from one panel point (joint) diagonally to the next.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Art S.
Art, I'm sorry, I'm not very knowledgeable in bridges. I found this link and went by the pictures:
http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/env/historic-bridg...
By this document I figured it might be Whipple because, according to the pictures, the framing is thinner than on the Pratt.
Is this the bridge that is lying in a field near Wheeler Branch Lake? 32.26646, -97.76941
Walter - If you compare the maps cited in an earlier comment you can see that a good part of the old road alignment is still discernable and in use. It ran basically parallel on the east side of the creek north of the bridge and along the west side of the creek south of the bridge.
Walter,
Your pictures seem to show a five panel Pratt truss. I'd guess it's a little later - 1900 - 1915 would be my thought.
Great pics BTW.
Regards,
Art S.
It appears to be a Whipple through truss. My limited research suggests it was built between 1860 and 1890. It's hard to imagine that it was once part of FM 973 since it runs perpendicular to the current highway route.
This crossing is on the map in 1904 and remains in 1950. The new alignment shows on the next map, dated 1984.
Looking at the NBI listings for the replacement bridge on the new alignment, a slab was built in 1950 and it was replaced in 2002 with the present bridge.
This bridge may not have closed immediately after it was bypassed but it may not have remained in use for long.
I am staying at the RV park located just south of this bridge. My daughter and I came upon it as we were exploring the park. All that remains is the metal framing. The RV park has built a wooden "fishing dock/observation area" using the west side of the bridge. I couldn't find a road for the bridge which seemed odd to me and is what made me curious enough to research it's history and why the bridge is there. I'm guessing, at one time an old dirt or county road was there.
Needs paint as protection so that it isn't mistaken for a bridge that needs replacing.
Photos taken April 2018
Photos taken April 2018.
Nice Shots, Thanks for sharing.
Photos taken April 2018
Photos taken April 2018
Photos taken April 2018.
I took this photo of the bridge on Apri1 8, 2018.
no access to public but can be seen from old entrance.
Unusual railing design.
Hello Doug
I used a 300mm lens, from 1st street, west of the bridge and the pedestrian bridge east of the bridge. However you can get much closer to the bridge, including the portals.
Royce
Hi. I'm going to be in this area soon and want to photograph Amtrak crossing this bridge.
Of the photos taken from the east side of the RR bridge, what type of zoom lens did you use?
I have a 200 mm and am wondering if that would bring the bridge close enough from the 1st Street bridge.
Thanks for your help
Needed: Good home for historic Central Texas bridge
http://www.kwtx.com/content/news/Needed--Good-home-for-histo...
I'm thinking the pin connected trusses on this span are more of an 1890s design, not 1917. Thoughts?
It's a standardized bridge design, so the image is more than likely of one in Kearnes county.
I have attached a picture taken of a bridge in Texas during a flood in early 1947 or late 1946. The picture was developed in Feb 1947. I had always thought that this bridge was somewhere in Karnes County (possibly over the San Antonio River). But after viewing pictures of the Guadalupe River Bridge, I'm wondering if this is a picture of that bridge instead. Any thoughts? Thanks, Lori
Eligibility report attached.
Being retired, replaced and 'monumented' meaning the deck and approaches removed and the remains stabilized:
https://www.news-journal.com/news/state/bosque-county-histor...
Out of the dirt. Definitely caused damage being in the dirt.
This lift starts soon.
When was bridge built/erected?
It was definitely a cool bridge, as is the other one. Thanks for the info.
Yes, a variant of the Turner... the opinion of engineers was that it was not a "true" Turner truss, but it was a polygonal Warren truss with Turner-like characteristics. Either way, an unusual design.
So I guess this might have been another of that Turner style?
The resemblance is striking! Didn't realize that company built more than one bridge of this unusual design.
Hmm... This looks a lot like the Meridian Street bridge that got put in storage in Washington.
I would like to have one or two of those bricks.
It got replaced the other day
It's a Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad trestle.
What is the bridge that is farther east of the TE Culvert? Is that bridge also a Texas Electric bridge or is that a railroad bridge?
This is the extant concrete south abutment for the Texas Electric Railway.
There are other extant cut limestone abutments on the railroad.
The old through truss looks like the typical Phoenix-built Pratts the SP loved to use.
The railroad was constructed ca 1872-1873 for the Houston and Texas Central to connect Dallas with the MKT at Red River. I suspect the 1914 bridge was built on the original stone abutments when the line was upgraded.
Right next to this bridge the Texas Electric Railway crossed the creek on a pony truss on concrete abutments built about 1908. The Interurban bridge was removed when operations ceased about 1945.
This ca 1910 postcard view is facing south.
More than likely the latter. Railroads reused substructures all the time.
It seems odd to have stone abutments and/or piers on a bridge of 1914. Cement had been standard for at least a decade.
Two ideas. This bridge could have been moved from another location and placed on existing stone work or this bridge could be a replacement for another earlier one on this site.
TxDOT and the City of Waxahachie are planning an expansion on Business US 77. This bridge is slated to be destroyed and new, wider (and uglier) one is to replace it.
Latest article on the issue. I did not get to attend this meeting.
http://www.waxahachietx.com/news/20170726/waxahachie-city-co...
Thank you for posting this information for all to find! I went to this bridge today looking for history and was amazed at the limestone at the base and the size of the blocks. Not knowing anything about the bridge then, it is nice to now know some of its history thanks to this article. Thanks again!
Appears the pages have been merged
A big thank you to Spicer Sigman for providing photos and for the tremendous effort in saving this beauty. The fact that it was hot riveted during its restoration goes well beyond what we see in most restorations.
Hats off to you sir!
I moved this bridge from the Hondo Creek to our ranch in 2003. The county was going to demolition it and I couldn't bare to see it wasted. It is a lenticular truss, so we hired Dodson House Moving and Alamo Crane to pick the bridge up on both ends at the same time. We then roaded the bridge to the ranch and placed it on awaiting concrete abutments. We spent the next year or so removing the cancerous lattice work and replacing it with newly fabricated steel. The entire bridge was hot-riveted, so it took a while to return it to its original form.
After sandblasting and repainting the entire bridge with a primer and two part epoxy, we installed new wood flooring as it was originally intended and drive across it daily. I will upload pictures soon.
Who was the Causeway named for?
Thanks,
MC
November 2017
Seawillow Bridge
The new bridge has been built and it appears the old one has been demolished. I crossed it recently and I saw no signs of an older bridge.
As I continue to travel around and celebrate 50 years on motorcycles with the Doug Domokos Tribute Tour, I am amazed with the beauty of our freedom. Doug always reminded us of that in his stunt shows as he was boldly patriotic. I am honored to continue giving tribute to him and I pray that everyone that it reaches would experience the true value of our freedom here in the USA, but more so a freedom anywhere in the world to have a genuine and real relationship with our creator - Jesus Christ.
Full article on YouTube at, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPiBnRCOe8M
Follow me, Bryan Jackson, as I travel the nation doing ministry, racing, and stunting at www.VerticalAdrenaline.com, which contains links to all social media platforms, schedules and promotional & booking materials.
About the photo/video shoot :
I had the opportunity to spend a little time at this beautiful nostalgic bridge in Mullin Texas in late September 2017. Even though I have performed on many bridges, I was a bit nervous on this one due to the fact that it moves, it’s narrow, and it doesn’t have railing. It’s supposedly the last one-way traffic suspension bridge in the state - that is still open to traffic. The Regency Bridge has been the opening footage of the Texas Country Reporter for some 20 years, it’s in the National Register of Historic Places, it’s the number one tourist attraction in San Saba and Mills counties. On top of all that growing stardom, a restoration of the bridge in 1999 brought out then Texas Governor George W. Bush in a dedication ceremony that attracted more than two thousand people to the remote location, including reporters from CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, and a host of state and local media (most of whom were following Bush everywhere in those days in anticipation of his run for the presidency). This crossing of the Colorado River was built in 1939 to reopen an important agricultural route and to link San Saba and Brownwood. It’s 400ft with 340ft spanning tower to tower.
As I continue to travel around and celebrate 50 years on motorcycles with the Doug Domokos Tribute Tour, I am amazed with the beauty of our freedom. Doug always reminded us of that in his stunt shows as he was boldly patriotic. I am honored to continue giving tribute to him and I pray that everyone that it reaches would experience the true value of our freedom here in the USA, but more so a freedom anywhere in the world to have a genuine and real relationship with our creator - Jesus Christ.
Full video at, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPiBnRCOe8M
Follow me, Bryan Jackson, as I travel the nation doing ministry, racing, and stunting at www.VerticalAdrenaline.com, which contains links to all social media platforms, schedules and promotional & booking materials.
About the photo/video shoot :
I had the opportunity to spend a little time at this beautiful nostalgic bridge in Mullin Texas in late September 2017. Even though I have performed on many bridges, I was a bit nervous on this one due to the fact that it moves, it’s narrow, and it doesn’t have railing. It’s supposedly the last one-way traffic suspension bridge in the state - that is still open to traffic. The Regency Bridge has been the opening footage of the Texas Country Reporter for some 20 years, it’s in the National Register of Historic Places, it’s the number one tourist attraction in San Saba and Mills counties. On top of all that growing stardom, a restoration of the bridge in 1999 brought out then Texas Governor George W. Bush in a dedication ceremony that attracted more than two thousand people to the remote location, including reporters from CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, and a host of state and local media (most of whom were following Bush everywhere in those days in anticipation of his run for the presidency). This crossing of the Colorado River was built in 1939 to reopen an important agricultural route and to link San Saba and Brownwood. It’s 400ft with 340ft spanning tower to tower.
Judging by the design, I would say approximately 1900 is a good bet. This design was a standardized Santa Fe truss.
When was this train truss bridge built.
It’s Wheelie Wednesday – September 13, 2017
I had the opportunity to spend a little time at this beautiful nostalgic bridge over the Colorado River in Coleman County. It’s known as the Waldrip Bridge, due to it being close to Waldrip Texas, population 15. The bridge has an incredible story to go along with its incredible beauty. It’s a 698ft through-truss-bridge featuring a 170ft main span using a steel-and-wooden-deck. It underwent numerous obstacles getting built as the original contract for construction was awarded in 1894. After a couple of floods, one reaching 65 feet above normal levels, the bridge was finally opened in September of 1911. The bridge closed a few years ago for restoration and renovation and opened back up for traffic in September 2011.
Thank you for tagging along. As I continue to travel around and celebrate 50 years on motorcycles with the Doug Domokos Tribute, I am so fascinated with creation - - - it screams of the creator God Himself. I am in awe that He continues to enable me to go and do what I do and see hearts and souls changed for the Glory to God.
Many more beautiful things to come.
Special thanks to my wife Tina Jackson for capturing these memorable moments through the lens, Dwayne Dove for finding this little gem and sharing it with me, and Dusty Messenger of Fry'D Rice Cycles in Olden Texas for keeping all these wheelie units going. You dream it – He can build it.
Full photo shoot online at https://www.facebook.com/bryan.jackson.186/media_set?set=a.1...
I had the opportunity to spend a little time at this beautiful nostalgic bridge in Burkett, Texas in September of 2017. The Through-Truss-Bridge was built in 1922 and is 755ft long. It has a special place in Jackson history for a number of reasons, including my grandfather Terrill Jackson doing trick riding under the bridge in 1929 – shown in album. In addition, the town Burkett was formed by my grandmother’s family in 1886 and carried the name of postmaster William Burkett. Her name was Henrietta “Retta” Burkett Jackson and she was quite the motorcycle enthusiasts as well, starting her riding career in the 1920’s – also shown in album. In thriving 1940 times, the town enjoyed about 200 settlers but declined over the years to currently around 30, just enough to still have that US Post Office once overseen by Mr Burkett himself.
As I continue to travel around and celebrate 50 years on motorcycles with the Doug Domokos Tribute Tour, I am fascinated with all that I get to see and do - and more so the talent that God has empowered me with to share with others. I hope you enjoy - and there’s more great things to come on the horizon, including a shoot at the infamous Waldrip Bridge in Coleman County. It has an amazing story in itself that I’ll be sharing with the shoot.
Special thanks to my wife Tina Jackson for capturing these memorable moments through the lens.
Link to the full photo shoot gallery
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMoOcdCrLYnEyJh_kPv4clX...
How to find out removal and transport costs
What are the dimensions and where is the bridge now?
I forgot to add, I've always heard it called Steinman Bridge. My Grandma moved to Electra by wagon in 1910, and they lived near Steinman Bridge.
This bridge is now spending its retirement in front of Denton County Southwest Courthouse at 6200 Canyon Falls Dr, Roanoke, TX, in the vicinity of Argyle and Flower Mound. N 33° 04.325 W 097° 12.214
We ran a piece with nice photos this weekend on the bridge: http://www.wacotrib.com/news/roads/a-bridge-too-close-a-hist...
Work began this month on a modern steel-and-concrete bridge about 10 feet away that will soon replace the last functioning Whipple truss bridge in Texas.
I was hoping there would be more of an update. But from looking at Bing maps where the images they have are in the winter (little brush covering the area), it appears the bridge is on the South Side of Chamber's Creek. Removed and set aside to rot.
Still a cool find if anyone can find the time to go there and get pictures! Very Interesting!!
This bridge is not abandoned and is now owned and used by the BNSF to service the Blue Bell ice cream factory.
The bridge was reopened later the same year it closed after the flood washed out the approach.
http://www.kxii.com/home/headlines/Highway-78-reopened--3205...
My husband and I live fairly close to this area. We take rides into the country just about everyday so we see a lot of the bridges or what's left of them that you have listed here. I myself find them interesting, being from the big city of Fort Worth my husband is from here in Hamilton so he is used to them but at the same time he hasn't seen them since he was a boy.
I discovered this website by accident and I look thru it everyday, thanks.
When was the bridge built?
While slightly incorrect, this will SOON be the "only" swing bridge in Texas. Sargent Texas actually has the "only" remaining, State-operated swing bridge in the State of Texas. It is being replaced starting this year with a "corkscrew bridge" to facilitate uninterrupted barge and vehicle traffic.
When I am driving down a highway, and I see a sign "LOAD ZONED BRIDGE AHEAD" on a side road, that's an invitation to explore. Though I was hoping for a nice, picturesque, old truss, what I found on Krchnak Road near Smithville TX was unusual enough to be notable. You just don't see too many recycled flatcar bridges, and this one was made from two flatcars welded together lengthwise to form a wide enough roadway. The two guys fishing said they didn't know of any others like it in the area.
I pasted this originally in December of 2014, deleted the original today, and reposted an edited version.
As I understand it, this bridge is just a concrete deck bridge with DECORATIVE cable arrays. TXDOT did that to cut costs.
Back then, I felt like neither of the others would be built with Calatrava effects. The Calatrava effects on 3rd one was cancelled. The second one IS PURELY decorative and scaled back.
The bridge is closed for demolition and rebuilding to accommodate population growth.
NIB shows a T-beam built here in 1935, a possible replacement date for the lenticular.
Nice find Luke! Its quite interesting to see more of the Texas variety of the Lenticulars unearthed
We visited Smothers Creek Bridge today after seeing the article in the Hallettsville paper. This bridge and the creek are named after my ancestor so it was a meaningful experience for me. I believe the creek was named after William Smothers and there is a roadside sign in his honor a few miles south of Hallettsville on Hwy. 77.
Bad news;
http://www.reporternews.com/story/news/local/2017/06/20/uspi...
A "suspicious" early Sunday morning fire destroyed a historic wooden and steel bridge over the Colorado River near Ballinger, fire officials said Monday.
It took the Ballinger Volunteer Fire Department five hours to extinguish the Sunday morning fire. The investigation into the cause has been turned over to the Texas Fire Marshal's office.
Firefighters from the Ballinger Volunteer Fire Department responded to a fire called in about 9:20 a.m. Sunday.
When the firefighters arrived, they realized it was the 12-Mile Bridge, an abandoned wooden and steel structure that crosses the Colorado River alongside a modern bridge at County Road 129.
Volunteer firefighter Todd Cleary said, "Smoke had been reported earlier, and when it was confirmed it was in our county, we responded. It took about five hours to extinguish the blaze."
A Ballinger firefighter on Monday said the bridge is beyond saving. All of the wood on the east side of the bridge was destroyed, he said.
The three-span bridge is about 400 feet long and 12 to 13 feet wide.
NBI says replacement bridge was built 1938.
Here's what I believe to be a picture of this bridge taken in 1937. I believe it was bypassed and removed at this time when the SH29 rerouted to it's current day location and the new bridge was built.
So is this bridge going to be "repaired" OR "replaced"?
My 2 Pfennigs: people aren't paying attention. They are talking on their phones or otherwise distracted. Or they simply don't care.
So what gives with the open dump beds destroying bridges?
This has happened twice in less than a week. This bridge and the I610 Overpass over the Eastex Freeway (US59 / I69)
Seems like there is a problem! Either the trucks have been tampered with, there is a systemic parts problem, or this is not an accident.
I haven't pulled a dump trailer with a tractor, but I have driven a truck with a dump bed. It has lights that tell you if the bed is (or is not) in the proper position. Beepers when it is open and you are moving. The balance of the truck is different when you move it. It would seem to me as if the dump trailer were up, that it would act like a giant wind brake. I think I would notice it...
Something is sort of smelly here.
This is the Bridge where a key scene was filmed for the horror film "Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2"
Article with video:
http://www.wfaa.com/news/historic-highway-67-bridge-closed-i...
Are these truck drivers who do this born stupid, or do they go to some special school to learn how to be this stupid? It is ridiculous that in a developed country of educated human beings such as the United States that this sort of idiocy occurs more than once in a weeklong period. This idiot did not even have the sense to realize his situation in advance of the accident. How do you a Commercial Truck Driving License Holder not notice such a blatent problem while operating your vehicle? He was going so fast when he hit he not only sheared off the portal bracing entirely, he made it well into the span, tearing apart sway bracing as well.
Bridge is closed following an accident.
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Truck-Damages-Truss-Bridge-...