State Highway 78 Bridge at the Red River
Also known as: Fn0279-02-024
Why it's listed
Carrying State Highway 78 across the Red River between Fannin County, Texas, and Bryan County, Oklahoma, this steel bridge is 2,108 feet long. It has eight riveted K-truss through spans and two camelback pony truss spans at each end, resting on concrete piers and abutments. Oklahoma Highway Commission engineers designed it with Texas review, and the Kansas City Bridge Company built it from 1937 to 1938. It replaced a suspension toll bridge that collapsed in a January 1934 storm. Federal emergency funds under the National Industrial Recovery Act paid for nearly all of the work, and flooding and riverbank erosion delayed construction and led to steel jetties for bank protection. The bridge is significant as a Depression-era public works project and as a rare design. Texas rarely used K-trusses, and this is the last K-truss highway bridge left in the state. It is also the fifth longest highway department truss bridge in Texas.
Significance in brief: The bridge was built with federal emergency relief funds under the National Industrial Recovery Act, tying it to Depression-era public works, which supports Criterion A at the state level. It is also the last remaining K-truss highway bridge in Texas and a rare combination of K-truss through spans and camelback pony truss spans, supporting Criterion C in engineering.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 96001517, listed December 20, 1996. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | OK 78, across the Red River at the OK-TX state line, Ravenna |
|---|---|
| County | Fannin County |
| Listed | December 20, 1996 |
| Reference number | 96001517 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Period of significance | 1937-1938 |
| Architect / builder | Bridge Designer: Oklahoma Highway Commission; Truss Fabricator: Illinois Steel Bridge Company of Jacksonville, Illinois; Bridge Builder: Kansas City Bridge Company of Kansas City, Missouri |
| Architectural style | Other: K-truss through bridge |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Transportation, Engineering |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Current function is still vehicular road transportation; the form says the bridge appears relatively unchanged since 1938 and no projects were planned. |
| Acreage | 1.2 |
| Coordinates | 33.75302, -96.19611 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 96001517.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14711338
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.