Road & Bridge Construction Photos courtesy of Scott & Pam Evans These pictures are believed to be from 1930 when Highway 58 (now Hwy 35) was paved and the bridge was built over the Colorado River. The entire set that was together is included on this page, but it is possible they are not all about the same topic. |
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A half dozen or more Texas counties joined hands with Matagorda county at Palacios on Oct. 17 in a monster celebration of the completion of highway No. 58 and the new Colorado river bridge at Bay City: Some eight thousand people were in attendance at the barbecue and speaking program which was prefaced by a most interesting pageant depicting the various methods of transportation from the days of the Indians to the present. The new Colorado river bridge at Bay City is part of highway No, 58 and was constructed by the L. H. Lacy company of Dallas at a total estimated cost to county and state of $268.768.20. The bridge has one 170-foot main span and two 80-foot approach spans, making a total length of 4,426 feet, with 4,086 lineal feet of trestle built with heavy northern fir stringers supporting the concrete slab. The pavement on the bridge is 20 feet between curbs. The elevation of the bridge floor of the main span is 65.5 feet, the top of the piers 6017 feet, and the distance between the banks of the river is approximately 360 feet. This handsome new bridge is the very latest in design and construction, the materials used were of the best, and it stands as a monument to the ear spirit of things in the rice belt district; better roads, better bridges, better everything building for the future and building well Matagorda county is to be congratulated upon the completion of highway No. 58, of which this bridge is an important part, as it brings the world to her door.--Emma Lewis Carleton in The Pentagon.
Daily Tribune, November 24, 1930 |
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State highway project 832-E, located on state highway No. 58 approximately two miles west of Bay City, Matagorda county, Texas. The length of the bridge project is 0.855 miles or 4426 lineal feet, consisting of 4086 lineal feet of treated timber trestle with concrete floor, a main steel span of 180 feet in length and two approach spans each 80 feet in length.
The material used in the construction of this project was 724- 630
F. B. M. treated lumber. The bridge was constructed by L. H. Lacy company of Dallas, Texas, at a cost of $268,768.20. Construction work was begun Dec. 9, 1929, and was finished Oct, 1, 1930. The bridge was designed in the offices of G. G. Wickline, state bridge engineer, and is calculated to carry a load of 15 tons, traveling each way. The trestle is divided into 16 sections by concrete fire walls extending from the ground to the top of the structure. This bridge connects the Hug- the-Coast highway which is now paved with concrete from the Texas National Guard camp at Palacios, to the Brazoria county line, a total length of approximately 44 miles. When the Hug-the-Coast highway is completed the distance to Corpus Christi from Bay City will be approximately 130 miles and to Brownsville from Bay City 280 miles. To the east this highway connects directly with Galveston. Orange and New Orleans with only one or two gaps yet to be paved. It is understood that the highway department will hasten the paving of the gaps on this highway, upon the completion of which the Colorado river bridge will be one of its principal river crossings. The cuts used in this descriptive article were furnished the Tribune by the Pentagon, the Central Power & Light Co's official paper. Daily Tribune, November 28, 1930 |
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 E. N. Gustafson, Resident Engineer; F. T. Bennett, Assistant Resident Engineer; E. B. Darby, Sr., Darby Construction Company |
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