Washington Avenue Bridge, Historic bridge in Waco, Texas.

The Washington Avenue Bridge is a steel bridge with Pennsylvania through truss design that crosses the Brazos River and connects East Waco to the downtown area. The structure spans approximately 450 feet and displays the distinctive latticed framework characteristic of this bridge type.

Built in 1902, the Washington Avenue Bridge was then Texas's longest single-span vehicular truss bridge, with a 450-foot span over the Brazos River. McLennan County and the City of Waco split its $93,399 cost, plus $1,850 for railings and approach spans, becoming equal owners. In 1905 a white mob lynched Sank Majors here, hanging him from a crossbeam; Jim Lawyer was attacked for objecting, and Texas Rangers did not intervene. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

The bridge is named for Washington Avenue, the street it carries across the Brazos. It was built to add a second river crossing one block west of the 1870 Waco Suspension Bridge, which had handled traffic alone for three decades. The two bridges still stand within sight of each other.

The bridge carries Washington Avenue across the Brazos River one block west of the 1870 Waco Suspension Bridge, so the two spans can be seen from each other. Approach it from downtown Waco on the west bank or from East Waco on the east bank.

The bridge cost $93,399 to build, plus $1,850 for railings and approach spans, with McLennan County and the City of Waco splitting the bill and becoming equal owners. Its 450-foot span made it the longest single-span vehicular truss bridge in Texas in 1902.