{"nrhp_refnum":"96001122","name":"State Highway 27 Bridge at the Guadalupe River","other_names":["US 87 Bridge at the Guadalupe River","Dw0143-08-037"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"US 87, .13 mi. S of jct. with US 183","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cuero","county":"DeWitt County","state":"TX","lat":29.065409671000054,"lon":-97.32247525899999,"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 highway bridge with concrete and steel approach spans and a separate relief structure, carrying US 87 over the Guadalupe River southwest of Cuero, DeWitt County, Texas. It was built in 1937-1938 by Cage Brothers & L.A. Turner for the Texas Highway Department.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the bridge embodies the defining characteristics of a Texas Highway Department truss bridge, using a custom-designed riveted Parker truss rather than a standard plan. It is also significant for foundation engineering: the north pier caisson was sunk well below grade in anticipation of future scour. It is one of only four Parker truss highway bridges in Texas with a 250-foot span.","narrative":"This bridge carries US 87, along with US 183 and State Highway 72, across the Guadalupe River southwest of Cuero in DeWitt County, Texas. Built in 1937-1938 by Cage Brothers & L.A. Turner to designs by the Texas Highway Department, it has a single 250-foot riveted Parker through truss, 20 steel I-beam approach spans and a separate 15-span relief structure to the north. It replaced an 1887 county truss bridge with light load capacity and an inadequate roadway width. The site lies on a sharp river bend with a high, eroding north bank, so engineers sank the north pier's caisson 41 feet and buried it under 17 feet of soil. Highway engineers designed the truss specially instead of using a standard plan. It is one of four 250-foot Parker truss highway bridges surviving in Texas. The project finished ahead of schedule and under budget, and the structure has seen no major alterations since.","period_of_significance":"1937-1938","architect_builder":"Bridge Designer: Texas Highway Department; Truss Fabricator: Illinois Steel Bridge Company of Jacksonville, Illinois; Bridge Builder: Cage Brothers & L.A. Turner of Bishop, Texas","architectural_style":"Other: Parker through truss bridge","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still used for vehicular transportation; no major alterations reported and no projects currently planned.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.292867-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/66/9688/40968866/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/96001122.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40968866","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110000931"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/dewitt-county/state-highway-27-bridge-at-the-guadalupe-river-96001122/"}