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Little River Bridges

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Abandoned iron bridge over the Little River on Sunshine Road in Bell County. Both approaches are gone so the bridge just hangs in mid air.

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County Rd 106 over the Little River in Milam County. It's been replaced by a concrete bridge, but it's still accessable.

On Edit: I've learned that this Bridge was Called the "Bryant Station Bridge" for a town that used to be on the north side of the river. There is still a Bryant Station Cemetery there, but even on a topographical map from 1963 there is no road to the cemetary.

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Did the concrete supports or the iron supports come first?

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More Little River Bridges. Central Texas is blessed with plentiful water in the form of rivers flowing from northwest to southeast. Most of them east of IH 35 are in deep channels 20-30 feet below ground level. It makes it difficult to move from place to place and you can see why communities were so isolated until the advent of these iron bridges in the late 19th and early 20th century.

This is all that's left of an iron bridge over the Little River at FM 486.

On Edit: This was called the "Norman Valley Bridge" on a 1963 topographical map.

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This bridge is on FM 1915 over Donahoe Creek just before it empties into the Little River. It's very easy to miss if you don't look to the west very quickly as you pass over the new bridge.

On Edit: This bridge is identified as "Bridge 372" on the 1963 topographical map and its location is listed as "Cummins Crossing".

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This bridge is on FM 1600 on the little river. It's difficult to see from the road, but I found a dirt road through the trees to a picnic area at the end of the bridge. I don't know if there was another span, but this one looks like it ends in the middle of the river.

On Edit: This was known as the "Holtzclaw Bridge" on a 1963 topographical map.

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This one is on County Road 264 and is called Sugarloaf Bridge for the hill just south of the river. It was originally one span of a bridge across the Brazos River near Bryan built in 1896. It was moved here in 1940 to replace a bridge that collapsed. It's been refurbished.

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This bridge is on County Road 227, just west of Cameron. The bridge is abandoned, but you can still access it from the east end. This bridge is another span of the relocated Brazos River Bridge near Bryan.

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Thanks for posting!
How interesting is that?! Most folks pass by without glimpsing or even guessing at the history they are missing. (myself included.)

You must really like bridges to know the history behind them (esp the spans that were moved and reassembled to be used elsewhere. Hey, that was a government project that appears to make sense...
 
Thanks for posting! Looks like fun riding just to take the pictures. Whats the story as to the one that has been mowed around? Was it close to a house? Looks like it would take a lawn mower to get under it.
 
That's on private property and borders a big field at the end of an overgrown road. They made it a picnic area with a big brick BBQ pit and there was lots of lawn furniture scattered around. It wasn't fenced in so I rode down and took the pic. You'd have to duck, even on a small riding mower.
 
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