US 190 Bridge at the Colorado River
Also known as: Lm0272-05-023
Why it's listed
Carrying US 190 across the Colorado River where Lampasas and San Saba counties meet, this bridge is a 1,294-foot steel structure completed in 1940. It has a 600-foot three-span continuous Warren truss with three continuous I-beam approach units on the west end, all resting on reinforced concrete piers. Texas Highway Department engineers designed it specially after a July 1938 flood damaged the earlier Red Bluff Bridge. The top chord curves between high points over the piers, resembling a suspension bridge cable. Federal emergency relief funds paid half of the cost. Cage Brothers & L.A. Turner built it using the cantilever method, and it opened 65 days ahead of schedule. It is one of only seven continuous through truss bridges left in Texas and has seen no major alterations since construction. Its significance rests on engineering design and its representation of Texas Highway Department truss work.
Significance in brief: The bridge embodies the defining characteristics of a Texas Highway Department truss bridge and is significant under Criterion C in engineering at the state level. It is a custom design with a top chord curved like a suspension bridge cable. It is one of only seven surviving continuous through truss bridges in Texas and one of five built before World War II.
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 96001125, listed October 10, 1996. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | US 190 at the Lampassand San Saba Cnty. line, Lometa |
|---|---|
| County | Lampasas County |
| Listed | October 10, 1996 |
| Reference number | 96001125 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Period of significance | 1939-1940 |
| Architect / builder | Bridge Designer: Texas Highway Department; Truss Fabricator: Virginia Bridge Company of Roanoke, Virginia; Bridge Builder: Cage Brothers & L.A. Turner of Bishop, Texas |
| Architectural style | Other: continuous through truss bridge |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Engineering |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in vehicular transportation use; no major repairs or alterations, and a May 1996 sufficiency rating of 56.7 made it eligible for rehabilitation but not replacement. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 31.21804, -98.56410 (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 96001125.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q55315822
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.