Pecos River High Bridge

Last updated
Pecos River High Bridge
Pecos river bridge.jpg
Pecos River High Bridge, late 1990s
Coordinates 29°45′31″N101°21′27″W / 29.75861°N 101.35750°W / 29.75861; -101.35750
Carries Union Pacific Railroad Sanderson Subdivision
Crosses Pecos River
Locale Langtry, Texas
Characteristics
Design Deck truss
Material Steel
Longest span374.5 feet (114.1 m)
No. of spans7
Piers in water2
History
Designer Modjeski and Masters
Constructed by Brown and Root, substructure; Bethlehem Steel Company, superstructure
Construction start1943
Construction end1944
Location
Pecos River High Bridge

The Pecos River High Bridge carries the Union Pacific Railroad across the Pecos River gorge, near the town of Comstock, Texas, and is historically the second high-level crossing on this site.

Contents

History

Pecos Viaduct, 1892 Pecos River High Bridge.jpg
Pecos Viaduct, 1892
Southern Pacific Railroad train on bridge, 1951 Pecos River High Bridge, Southern Pacific Railroad 1951.jpg
Southern Pacific Railroad train on bridge, 1951

The first Pecos River Bridge, designed by SP chief engineer Julius Kruttschnitt, was built by the Phoenix Bridge Company and completed in 1892. After strengthening and reinforcement in 1910 and again in 1929 which almost doubled its weight, it remained in place until 1949, five years after its replacement. The second (current) Pecos River High Bridge, was completed by the Southern Pacific Railroad on December 8, 1944. [1]

The current Pecos River High Bridge is a steel deck truss bridge on slip-formed concrete piers, ranging in height up to 275 feet (84 m). It was designed by Modjeski and Masters of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with foundations constructed by Brown and Root of Houston and trusses fabricated by Bethlehem Steel Company of Chicago. Because of material rationing during World War II, War Production Board approval was required before proceeding fabrication. [2]

Route

In addition to freight trains of the Union Pacific (which merged with the Southern Pacific in 1996), this bridge carries Amtrak's Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle between its stations in Sanderson and Del Rio.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steel Bridge</span> Bridge in Portland, Oregon

The Steel Bridge is a through truss, double-deck vertical-lift bridge across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States, opened in 1912. Its lower deck carries railroad and bicycle/pedestrian traffic, while the upper deck carries road traffic, and light rail (MAX), making the bridge one of the most multimodal in the world. It is the only double-deck bridge with independent lifts in the world and the second oldest vertical-lift bridge in North America, after the nearby Hawthorne Bridge. The bridge links the Rose Quarter and Lloyd District in the east to Old Town Chinatown neighborhood in the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Truss bridge</span> Bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss

A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements, typically straight, may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. There are several types of truss bridges, including some with simple designs that were among the first bridges designed in the 19th and early 20th centuries. A truss bridge is economical to construct primarily because it uses materials efficiently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huey P. Long Bridge (Jefferson Parish)</span> Road and railroad bridge in Louisiana, U.S.

The Huey P. Long Bridge, located in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, is a cantilevered steel through-truss bridge that carries a two-track railroad line over the Mississippi River at mile 106.1, with three lanes of US 90 on each side of the central tracks. It is several kilometers upriver from the city of New Orleans. The East Bank entrance is at Elmwood, Louisiana, and the West Bank at Bridge City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coraopolis Bridge</span> Bridge in Pennsylvania, U.S.

The Coraopolis Bridge[1] is a girder bridge over the back channel of the Ohio River connecting Grand Avenue on Neville Island to Ferree Street in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. It opened in 1995 to replace a structure of historic significance. The original Pratt/Bowstring/Pennsylvania[2] through truss spans, designed by Theodore Cooper, were formerly the (third) Sixth Street Bridge, spanning the Allegheny River, in downtown Pittsburgh, and were built in 1892 by the Union Bridge Company. They were floated downstream by the Foundation Company in 1927 rather than being demolished when the bridge was removed to enable construction of the present (fourth) Three Sisters (Pittsburgh) Sixth Street Self-anchored suspension bridge. However, by the late 1980s, the old bridge could no longer support traffic volumes and was replaced by a newer structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frisco Bridge</span> Bridge in Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee

The Frisco Bridge, previously known as the Memphis Bridge, is a cantilevered through truss bridge carrying a rail line across the Mississippi River between West Memphis, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Bridge (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)</span> Bridge in Pennsylvania and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Bridge carries Norfolk Southern rail lines across the Susquehanna River between Lemoyne, Pennsylvania and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Some of its concrete piers encase stone masonry piers from an earlier truss bridge on this site, completed in 1891 by the Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh Railroad, which was then acquired by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad to connect its Harrisburg and Lurgan lines. The current structure was constructed from 1920 to 1924 by replacing the trusses with concrete arches one track at a time. The bridge has fifty-one concrete arches, three more than the nearby Rockville Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Bridge of Kentucky</span> Railroad bridge crossing the Kentucky River Palisades in Jessamine County, KY, US

The High Bridge is a railroad bridge crossing the Kentucky River Palisades, that rises approximately 275 feet from the river below and connects Jessamine and Mercer counties in Kentucky. Formally dedicated in 1879, it is the first cantilever bridge constructed in the United States. It has a three-span continuous under-deck truss used by Norfolk Southern Railway to carry trains between Lexington and Danville. It has been designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge</span> Bridge in and Omaha, Nebraska

The Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge is a rail truss bridge across the Missouri River between Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bellefontaine Bridge</span>

The Bellefontaine Bridge is a four-span truss railroad bridge over the Missouri River between St. Charles County, Missouri, and St. Louis County, Missouri. It has four 440-foot (130 m) spans. Construction started on July 4, 1892, and the bridge opened on December 27, 1893.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B & O Railroad Viaduct</span> United States historic place

B & O Railroad Viaduct is a historic structure in Bellaire, Ohio, listed in the National Register of Historic Places on June 22, 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellsworth Street Bridge</span> Bridge in Albany, Oregon

The Ellsworth Street Bridge is a highway bridge that crosses the Willamette River in Albany, Oregon, United States. Built in 1925, the two-lane structure carries U.S. Route 20 eastbound traffic, with the adjacent Lyon Street Bridge carrying westbound traffic. The 1,090-foot-long (330 m) steel truss bridge was designed by Conde McCullough and opened in 1926.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing</span> United States historic place

The B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing is a 15-acre (6.1 ha) historic site where a set of railroad bridges, originally built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, span the Potomac River between Sandy Hook, Maryland and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 14, 1978, for its significance in commerce, engineering, industry, invention, and transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hill to Hill Bridge</span> Bridge in Pennsylvania, U.S.

The Hill to Hill Bridge is a road crossing of the Lehigh River and linking the south and north sides of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kettle Falls Bridges</span> Bridge in Kettle Falls, Washington

The Kettle Falls Bridges is the collective name for a pair of steel cantilever bridges carrying State Route 20/U.S. Route 395 and the Kettle Falls International Railway across the Columbia River at Kettle Falls, Washington. The south bridge carries motor vehicle traffic while the similar northern span is used for rail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Healdsburg Memorial Bridge</span> Bridge in Healdsburg, California

The Healdsburg Memorial Bridge is a steel truss bridge across the Russian River in Healdsburg, California, listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It can be seen from nearby U.S. Route 101 and is "Healdsburg's abiding structural symbol".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jefferson Street Viaduct</span> United States historic place

The Jefferson Street Viaduct is a historic structure located in Ottumwa, Iowa, United States. The riveted Warren deck truss bridge was completed in 1936. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 as a part of the Highway Bridges of Iowa MPS.

The Crooked River Railroad Bridge, part of a BNSF Railway line between the Columbia River and Bend, Oregon, crosses Oregon's Crooked River Canyon in southern Jefferson County. The bridge is 320 feet (98 m) above the river and when it was completed in 1911, it was the second-highest railroad bridge in the United States. It is a steel two-hinge arch span with a total length of 460 feet (140 m).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quechee Gorge Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Quechee Gorge Bridge is a historic bridge, carrying U.S. Route 4 (US 4) across Quechee Gorge, near the Quechee village of Hartford, Vermont. Built in 1911, it is Vermont's oldest surviving steel arch bridge. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morley Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Morley Bridge, also known as the Romley Bridge, located near Romlee in Chaffee County, Colorado, is a wrought-iron pin-connected Pratt truss bridge that was built in 1881. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hayden Bridge (Springfield, Oregon)</span> Iron bridge spanning the McKenzie river

The Hayden RR Bridge, is a truss bridge located in Springfield, Oregon, spanning over the McKenzie River. It initially served as a traditional railroad bridge, starting as part of the first transcontinental railroad in Utah, before moving to its current location as part of the Marcola line, whose primary use was the distribution of lumber. It later closed alongside the area's lumber mills, and became a pedestrian bridge in 2019. It is one of the few remaining wrought-iron, Phoenixville bridges still standing, and the oldest intact bridge in the state of Oregon.

References

  1. Baker, T. Lindsay (1986). Building the Lone Star State: An Illustrated Guide to Historic Sites. College Station: Texas A&M University Press. p. 124.
  2. Spivey, Justin M. (October 1998). "Southern Pacific Railroad, Pecos River Bridge" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. p. 7. Retrieved March 3, 2018.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Pecos River High Bridge at Wikimedia Commons