State Highway Bridge 5 at Big Pine Creek
Also known as: FM 1510 Bridge at Big Pine Creek; Lr0045-15-089
Why it's listed
This 50-foot steel Warren pony truss bridge carries FM 1510 over Big Pine Creek in Lamar County, Texas. Austin Brothers Bridge Company built it in 1920 and 1921 for the Texas Highway Department, using the department's T5 standard design. That design hangs its floor beams beneath the bottom chords, a layout later replaced by braced beams. Only four 50-foot examples of the design survive, and this bridge and its neighbor at High Creek are the only state highway bridges in Texas that still use suspended floor beams. In 1935 and 1936 the department widened the roadway from 15 to 21 feet. Crews lifted the truss, rebuilt the abutments and replaced the concrete deck with timber stringers and plank flooring, a materials-saving choice during the Depression. When US 82 was straightened in the late 1940s, the bridge was bypassed and now serves light local traffic. That low use likely explains why the wooden deck survives.
Significance in brief: The bridge is significant in engineering as an example of early highway department design and of the department's economical construction and maintenance practices during the Depression. It uses the THD T5 standard design with suspended floor beams, and it is one of only two bridges on the Texas state highway system to do so. Its 1930s widening with a wooden deck is a rare technique and is considered a historically significant alteration.
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 96001103, listed October 10, 1996. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | FM 1510, 1.4 mi. E of jct. with FM 38, Brookston |
|---|---|
| County | Lamar County |
| Listed | October 10, 1996 |
| Reference number | 96001103 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Period of significance | 1920-1921; 1935-1936 |
| Architect / builder | Bridge Designer: Texas Highway Department; Truss Fabricator: Austin Brothers Bridge Company of Dallas, Texas; Bridge Builder: Austin Brothers Bridge Company of Dallas, Texas |
| Architectural style | Other: Warren pony truss bridge |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Engineering |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in vehicular use on FM 1510 with its wooden deck intact; modern guardrails were added in the 1980s. Its 1995 sufficiency rating of 11.9 made it eligible for replacement, though no projects were planned. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 33.66108, -95.67332 (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 96001103.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q110001111
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.