Heritage, 2007, Volume 1 Page: 15
31 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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ACO SUSPENSION BRIDGE
Crossing the Brazos River at Waco,
the Waco Suspension Bridge was the
first suspension bridge erected in Texas.
At its completion in late December
1869, the 475-foot bridge was one of the
largest single-span suspension bridges in
the world.
Prior to construction of the bridge,
crossing the Brazos River at Waco was
a treacherous undertaking. Because
Waco was on the Chisholm Trail, the
city prospered after the Civil War, and
community leaders recognized the need
for a bridge across the Brazos. In 1866,
the Texas legislature issued a charter
to the Waco Bridge Company to build
a toll bridge over the Brazos. In 1868,
Thomas M. Griffith, a civil engineer
working for Roebling and Son of Trenton,
New Jersey (the company later built
the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City),
designed the bridge and served as construction
supervisor.
The cost to erect the Texas bridge was
between $130,000 and $140,000 and
an estimated three million locally made
bricks were used in construction. Because Waco did not have the necessary
machine shops or craftsmen to build a
bridge this large, nor a nearby railroad
to bring in supplies, components of the
bridge had to be hauled to Waco in sections
by ox wagons.
The bridge was completed in late December
1869. The first tolls were collected
in January 1870, and the Waco
Bridge Company collected tolls for
20 years before the bridge was sold to
McLennan County. The county sold
the bridge to the city of Waco for one
dollar in 1889, with the agreement that
the bridge would operate as a toll-free
structure.
The original crenellated owers were
stuccoed over sometime tween 1913
and 1914 when major econstruction
on the bridge was do. Steel trusses
were added on each ide to allow for
heavier loads and t rovide walkways.
The bridge, whic was placed on the
National Registerbf Historic Placs'
1970, was used br vehicular tra until
1971 and n, serves as ,fdest
walkway.
.~a. ~ ~'HERITAGE / Volume 1 2007
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Texas Historical Foundation. Heritage, 2007, Volume 1, periodical, 2007; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth45363/m1/15/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Foundation.