Sugarloaf Bridge, Milam County

Sugarloaf Bridge, Milam County. Texas Historic Bridge. The Sugarloaf Bridge is a 234-foot long, pin-connected Parker through truss bridge located over the Little River near historic Sugarloaf Mountain in Milam County. Parker trusses such as this one, were developed by C.H. Parker in a series of patents filed between 1868 and 1871. The truss span used for this bridge was originally erected in 1896 over the Brazos River on the Bryan-Caldwell Road in Brazos County. The span was relocated to its present Milam County site in 1940., The original bridge on the Bryan-Caldwell Road had been constructed at the site of the Pitts Ferry Crossing by the Brazos River Bridge Company as part of a multi-span toll bridge. In 1909 it was purchased by Brazos County and continued in use as a free bridge until 1930, when the Texas Highway Department constructed Highway 21. The bridge was abandoned upon completion of a new Brazos River crossing on SH 21. , Meanwhile in Milam County the Faubion Bridge was located on an early route known as "Ramons Road" about a mile upstrem from the present day Sugarloaf Bridge. It was the only crossing of the Little River in the area. After the Faubion Bridge fell into the river in December of 1937, Milam County hired the Austin Bridge Company to move one of the spans of the old abandoned Brazos River Bridge and erect it here near the base of Sugarloaf Mountain. , In 2006 this bridge was restored by the Texas Department of Transportation using Federal Highway Transportation Enhancement funds. The bridge continues its transportation legacy as a pedestrian bridge and continues to stand as an early landmark of Texas history with a heritage proudly shared by the people of both Brazos and Milam Counties.