Bluff Dale Suspension Bridge, Cable-stayed bridge in Bluff Dale, Texas, US.
The Bluff Dale Suspension Bridge is a cable-suspended span crossing the Paluxy River, built from hand-twisted wire and wrought-iron pipe towers. The structure displays the cable and tower arrangement typical of late 1800s suspension bridge design.
The bridge was built in 1891 across the Paluxy River on a dirt road that later became Texas State Highway 10, now U.S. Route 377. When a new bridge was built for U.S. 377 traffic in 1933, the old span was moved 1.5 miles (2.4 km) upstream in 1934 and lengthened from 200 to 225 feet (61 to 69 m). It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 20, 1977, and closed to vehicles in 1989 due to deterioration.
Locals know the span as the Bluff Dale Bridge, though engineers classify it as cable-stayed rather than suspended: its deck hangs from layered stay cables radiating from the towers, some running tower to tower. The design follows Edwin Elijah Runyon's 1889 patent US 394,940, and this is one of only two surviving Runyon bridges, with Barton Creek Bridge in Huckabay.
The bridge sits on County Road 149 north of U.S. 377 and is easy to locate along the rural road. Visitors should be aware that it is closed to vehicle traffic and can only be explored on foot.
The bridge was engineered by Edwin Elijah Runyon using hand-twisted steel cables and wrought-iron pipes, an uncommon combination of materials for its time. It remains one of only two surviving examples of this particular construction method.
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