| Colorado River Bridge at Bastrop | |||||||||||||||||||
| Carries: | Pedestrian traffic | ||||||||||||||||||
| Crosses: | Colorado River | ||||||||||||||||||
| Locale: | Bastrop, Texas USA | ||||||||||||||||||
| Owner: | City of Bastrop | ||||||||||||||||||
| Design: | Parker through truss bridge | ||||||||||||||||||
| Material: | Steel, reinforced concrete | ||||||||||||||||||
| Length: | 1285feet | ||||||||||||||||||
| Mainspan: | 192feet | ||||||||||||||||||
| Lanes: | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Architect: | G.G. Wickline | ||||||||||||||||||
| Contracted Designer: | R.E. Schiller | ||||||||||||||||||
| Builder: | Kansas City Bridge Company | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cost: | $167,500 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Extra: |
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The Old Iron Bridge, sometimes referred to as the Colorado River Bridge, is a 1285feet-long bridge with three steel truss spans and concrete piers that crosses the Colorado River as part of Loop 150 through Bastrop, Texas. The bridge is one of the earliest surviving uses of the Parker truss in Texas.
With automobiles becoming the dominant form of transportation in the United States after World War I, a new bridge was needed to handle the increasing traffic between Houston and Austin. The original estimate of the cost of the Old Iron Bridge was $40,000 and was partially financed by bonds issued by Bastrop County. The rest was paid for with federal funds disbursed by the Texas State Highway Department. Bids on the project were solicited and the Kansas City Bridge Co. was selected as contractor. The final cost of the bridge's construction was $167,500. The bridge was completed in 1923 and opened for use in January 1924. The original bridge was sold and torn down in the early 1930s.[1]
The bridge was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on July 19, 1990.