Route 66 Bridge over the Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf Railroad

Shamrock, Wheeler County, Texas Listed April 3, 2007 Ref. 06000925 Structure

Why it's listed

Built between October 1931 and July 1932, this 125-foot bridge carried two-lane Route 66 traffic over the Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf Railroad tracks east of Shamrock in the Texas Panhandle. Engineer M.L. Grady of the Texas State Highway Department's Bridge Division designed it, and contractor E.T. Prater built it for $28,568.74. Its center span uses steel I-beams encased in concrete, a design that lowered height, weight and cost by about $5,000 and shielded the steel from weather and locomotive blast. The other spans are reinforced concrete girders on concrete pile bents. The bridge served Route 66 until Interstate 40 opened to the north in 1960, and it now serves as a frontage road. It was listed for its link to Route 66 and for an uncommon engineering design, and it remains largely unaltered from its original construction.

Significance in brief: The bridge reflects the development and history of Route 66 as the main corridor from the Midwest to the West. Its concrete-encased steel I-beam main span is one of only a few of its type in Texas, and it is described as the last vehicular bridge in Texas directly associated with Route 66. It retains its original design, form and materials.

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 06000925, listed April 3, 2007. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).

Key facts

Address	I-40 south frontage road over the former CRI&G RR ROW, Shamrock
County	Wheeler County
Listed	April 3, 2007
Reference number	06000925
Resource type	Structure
Period of significance	1932-1957
Architect / builder	Parker, E.T (builder); Grady, M.L. (engineer)
Architectural style	No style
Criteria	A — associated with events that made a significant contribution to history C — distinctive architecture, design or construction
Areas of significance	Transportation, Engineering
Level of significance	State
Status (as stated in the nomination)	Reported to be in good condition and still in use as part of the I-40 frontage road system; the railroad below is abandoned and its rails removed.
Acreage	0.9
Coordinates	35.22847, -100.10626 (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 06000925.
Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
Wikidata Q60750838
This listing as JSON

Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.