Waco Suspension Bridge

​The Waco Suspension Bridge is a wire cable suspension bridge across the Brazos River in Waco, Texas. It opened on November 20, 1869, and replaced the ferry that was previously used to cross the river. The bridge originally acted as a toll bridge, with the first toll being collected on January 1, 1870. The toll was removed on September 1, 1889, when the bridge was sold to McLennan County.

At the time of its construction, this bridge was one of the largest suspension bridges in the world and was the first major suspension bridge in Texas. At this time, Waco was hundreds of miles away from major cities, which complicated the construction. It lacked the required resources, such as workers, engineers, materials, fabrication shops, etc. Many of the materials and workers came from Galveston, which is over 212 miles from the construction site. The materials were transported from Galveston to Bryan on steamers, then were loaded onto wagons pulled by oxen for the last 80 miles. This road was a pothole-filled dirt road that was considered bad, even in 19th-century Texas standards. The steel cables were manufactured by the Roebling Company and were transported from New Jersey.

The original bridge featured two double cable towers of pink brick that stood 49’ above the roadbed. The towers were considered a marvel of engineering and contained nearly 3 million bricks. The trusses were 6’-8” high and were made from bolted wood sections. The bridge also had a wooden roadbed, and terminated with toll houses and walls at both ends of the bridge. A severe flood damaged the east approach in 1885, and the span was replaced with a steel span.

The bridge underwent a major rehabilitation project in 1913-1914. At this time, most of the original bridge structure was replaced, and it can be argued that 1914 is the actual construction date. At this time, the fine details, pierced openings, and battlements were all removed. The original brick towers were stuccoed, and additional concrete was added to raise the cable height, and the towers now stand 56’-10” above the roadbed. The second arch was also added to the top of the towers. The original wooden stiffening trusses were removed and replaced with riveted steel trusses. These trusses were 14’-8” heigh, and were built up using angles and channels, and feature attractive v-lacing. The pedestrian walkways were also added, as were the riveted lattice railings. The project also replaced the older steel cables with a higher gauge steel cable.

The roadbed and walkways were replaced in 1949 to meet new specifications. The bridge received minor damage during a tornado in 1953, and the steel and roadbed were repaired as necessary to reopen the bridge.

The bridge was closed to traffic in 1971, and the traffic was diverted to the adjacent Washington Avenue Bridge, as well as the newly constructed Franklin Avenue Bridge. Fortunately, the bridge was kept and is still open to pedestrian use. It is utilized for special events, including the Ironman 70.3 Waco event (which can be seen in the pictures).

Starting in October 2020, the bridge was closed as the city of Waco embarked on a major rehabilitation project. Work began in January 2021 and the bridge didn’t reopen until April 22, 2023. This project included replacing the cables, installing a new anchorage system, and replacing the decking. In order to do this work, temporary piers were installed in the river to support the bridge and to hold a temporary work platform beneath the bridge. During the initial survey, the geometry turned out to be substantially different from what was shown in the 1914 plans. One of the towers is actually several inches shorter than the other. The sag of the cables was about 18 inches more than was expected, and the height at midspan varied by about 5 inches between the two main cables.

The concrete piers that can be seen adjacent to the bridge held the Interurban Bridge. This bridge was a three span truss bridge, built by the railroad in 1913. When the railroad ceased operation on December 31, 1948, a new deck was installed and the bridge reopened for automobile traffic. The bridge was closed in 1973 when the Franklin Avenue Bridge was built. It was considered an eyesore, and it was demolished 1974 as the town prepared for the Bicentennial.