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“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Near Knox City in Knox County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
 

Brazos River Bridge

 
 
Brazos River Bridge Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Kirchner, June 9, 2017
1. Brazos River Bridge Marker
Inscription. This bridge was constructed in 1938-39 to replace a 1901 bridge and provide a crossing over the Brazos River. Located on State Highway 6 (originally State Highway 16 and later State Highway 283) south of Benjamin, the bridge links the Knox County seat to points south. A statewide historic bridge survey in the 1990s identified it as one of only five continuous through truss bridges in Texas built before World War II.

The design consists of a three-span continuous truss unit measuring 382 1/2 feet flanked by two simply supported truss spans each 96 feet long. The bridge has three steel I-beam approach spans on the south side and two on the north. The truss spans rest on reinforced concrete piers and the approach spans rest on a series of precast concrete pile bents.

The 1901 bridge, consisting of four 119-foot Pratt through truss spans and two pony truss spans, was reported to be in seriously deteriorated condition by 1934. During construction of the new bridge immediately upstream of the old one, a pier of the old bridge subsided, requiring closing of the bridge and construction of a detour road. Texas highway department engineers developed a special design for the replacement bridge’s truss spans, with a warren truss configuration with parallel top and bottom chords. Oran Speer of Alvord was the contractor, and
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the Virginia Bridge Company of Roanoke, Virginia, fabricated the steel truss spans. Construction began on May 2, 1938, the new bridge was open to traffic by January 11, 1939, and the project was officially completed on March 16, 1939, at a cost of about $138,000. In 1996, the bridge was listed in the National Register of Historic Places at the state level of significance.

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
 
Erected 2015 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 18073.)
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Bridges & Viaducts. A significant historical date for this entry is March 16, 1939.
 
Location. 33° 29.953′ N, 99° 48.14′ W. Marker is near Knox City, Texas, in Knox County. Marker is on State Highway 6, 5.7 miles north of Knox City, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Knox City TX 79529, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. First Christian Church (approx. 5.7 miles away); Original Old Rock Courthouse Cornerstone (approx. 5.8 miles away); First Settlement in Knox County / L – Ranch (approx. 5.8 miles away); Knox County (approx. 5.9 miles away); Quanah Parker Trail (approx. 5.9 miles away); Sunset Consolidated Rural School District
Brazos River Bridge Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Kirchner, June 9, 2017
2. Brazos River Bridge Marker
(approx. 6.2 miles away); Pleasant C. Sams (approx. 8 miles away); The Narrows (approx. 8 miles away).
 
Brazos River Bridge image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Kirchner, June 9, 2017
3. Brazos River Bridge
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on January 5, 2019. It was originally submitted on July 5, 2017, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. This page has been viewed 377 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on July 5, 2017, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona.

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Mar. 29, 2024