Waco Suspension Bridge, Suspension bridge in Waco, United States.
The Waco Suspension Bridge is a single-span suspension bridge over the Brazos River, with a main span of 475 ft (145 m). Its two double towers, joined by stone arches, contain nearly 3 million locally made bricks; the steelwork includes V-shaped pony trusses. It links Indian Spring Park to Doris D. Miller Park.
The bridge was built in 1869 by engineer Thomas M. Griffith using cables from the Roebling company, which later supplied materials for the Brooklyn Bridge. It operated as a toll crossing until 1889, when McLennan County purchased it and eliminated all passage fees.
Indian Spring Park, at the bridge's southwest end, marks the site where the Huaco Indians settled beside a cold spring, the origin of the town of Waco. Each Independence Day, thousands of locals gather on the bridge to watch fireworks over the Brazos.
The bridge is now open to foot traffic only, linking Indian Spring Park on the southwest bank with Doris D. Miller Park on the northeast. It closed in October 2020 for a $12.4 million rehabilitation that replaced the 1914 suspension cables, reinforced the anchors and renewed the decking. Access is from either bank, north of downtown Waco.
The bridge's 475-foot main span made it the longest single-span suspension bridge west of the Mississippi when it opened, and the first major suspension bridge in Texas. Its cables came from the Roebling company of Trenton, New Jersey, the firm later associated with the Brooklyn Bridge.
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