{"nrhp_refnum":"96001111","name":"State Highway 3 Bridge at the Colorado River","other_names":["US 90 Br. at the Colorado R.","Cd0027-01-001"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"US 90, .6 mi. E of jct. with Loop 329","address_restricted":false,"city":"Columbus","county":"Colorado County","state":"TX","lat":29.70622280400005,"lon":-96.53601044499999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-10-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A steel Parker through truss bridge carrying US 90 (former State Highway 3) over the Colorado River just east of Columbus, Colorado County, Texas. It was built in 1931-1932 by the Austin Bridge Company for the Texas Highway Department.","why_significant":"The bridge is significant in the area of engineering at the state level because it embodies the characteristics of a Texas Highway Department truss bridge. It shows the department's practice of combining standard truss designs to span long crossings. Its main span uses the T22-200 design, one of only three surviving examples in Texas, and it is one of four surviving multiple-span truss bridges combining different standard designs.","narrative":"Carrying US 90 over the Colorado River just east of Columbus, this bridge consists of three riveted steel Parker through truss spans and five steel I-beam approach spans, with an overall length of about 766 feet. A 200-foot center span is flanked by two 150-foot spans, all resting on concrete piers. The Austin Bridge Company built it between October 1931 and November 1932 for roughly $128,000, using plans prepared by the Texas Highway Department. It replaced an unsafe truss bridge from about 1898, where a highway department truck fell through the deck in 1928. The new structure was placed on an improved alignment that removed a sharp turn and widened the roadway. Its importance lies in engineering: the department combined two standard truss designs, T22-200 and T22-150, rather than commissioning a custom design. Only three T22-200 bridges survive in Texas. The bridge has seen no major repairs and retains its original character.","period_of_significance":"1931-1932","architect_builder":"Bridge Designer: Texas Highway Department; Truss Fabricator: Mosher Steel & Machinery of Dallas, Texas; Bridge Builder: Austin Bridge Company of Dallas, Texas","architectural_style":"Other: Parker through truss bridge","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still used for vehicular traffic on US 90; no major repairs have been made and it appears relatively unchanged since 1932.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.892289-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/33/9686/40968633/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/96001111.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96001111/ce3c193b31-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96001111/ce3c193b31-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:State_highway_3_bridge_at_the_colorado_river.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Larry D. Moore</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:State_highway_3_bridge_at_the_colorado_river.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40968633","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110000930"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/colorado-county/state-highway-3-bridge-at-the-colorado-river-96001111/"}