Bunton Branch Bridge
Also known as: Bridge No. 44
Why it's listed
Bridge No. 44, now called the Bunton Branch Bridge, is a small concrete arch carrying County Road 210 over an intermittent creek just north of Kyle, Hays County, Texas. Built in 1915, it has a single 40-foot semi-circular closed-spandrel arch on concrete abutments, solid parapets, and skewed wing walls, with the date and bridge number stamped on the railing. It carries one lane of traffic on an 18-foot asphalt roadway. The bridge was part of the first federal aid highway project in Texas, which upgraded the old Austin-San Antonio Post Road, later State Highway 2. Of roughly 35 bridges on that project, it is the only known reinforced concrete arch, a design probably chosen because stone in the streambed allowed a more economical foundation. It is valued as a rare, largely unaltered early example of this bridge type, and for its link to the post road and early federal road funding in Texas.
Significance in brief: It is an excellent, virtually unaltered example of an early reinforced concrete closed-spandrel arch bridge, one of a small number surviving in Texas. It was built as part of the first federal aid highway project in Texas, which improved the Austin-San Antonio Post Road. It is nominated at the state level under Criterion A for transportation and Criterion C for 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 02000086, listed February 19, 2002. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Cty. Rd. 210, approx. 0.2 mi. NW of jct. with IH-35 at Bunton Overpass, Kyle |
|---|---|
| County | Hays County |
| Listed | February 19, 2002 |
| Reference number | 02000086 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Period of significance | 1915-1932 |
| Architect / builder | J.N. George & Sons Construction Company, builder. |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Transportation, Engineering |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in road-related transportation use, carrying one lane of County Road 210; retains a high degree of integrity with only a modern guardrail added and minor concrete patching. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 30.04240, -97.84242 (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 02000086.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q110002223
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.