State Highway 78 Bridge at the Red River

The State Highway 78 Bridge at the Red River was constructed in 1937 and 1938 with emergency relief funds. Because of its association with a federal work relief program implemented during the Depression, the bridge meets Criterion A in the area of Transportation (subcategory Depression-era Public Works) at a state level of significance. (Refer to Section F, Associated Property Types, for a discussion: on subcategories within an area of significance.) As a rare example of a bridge with K-truss through and camelback pony spans, it is significant for the rarity of type. It therefore also meets National Register Criterion C in the area of Engineering at a state level of significance.

As a National Recovery Secondary (NRS) project, the Red River bridge construction was funded almost entirely with federal emergency funds authorized under Section 204, Title II, of the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA). This legislation provided federal monies to supplement state highway funds that the Depression had severely curtailed. By providing additional federal aid, NIRA helped to maintain highway construction spending at pre-Depression levels. Texas received nearly $25 million in emergency construction funds under this legislation; the State Highway 78 Bridge at the Red River was one of 543 Texas emergency projects funded under NIRA.

The Red River bridge replaced a suspension bridge that collapsed in January 1934. According to the April 12, 1959 issue of The Daily Oklahoman, this bridge was opened in July 1927 as a toll bridge but was purchased by the Texas and Oklahoma highway departments for use as a free bridge. The article explains:

It was a fine bridge... and after it was made free, there was a tremendous increase in travel between the two states. Work was started to bring Highway 78 up to standard.

On January 15, 1934, a norther of terrific force came up which caused the swinging bridge to fall. At 1 a.m. the wire cables on the Fannin [County] side of the river became twisted, then snapped, broken in half, and the entire massive structure crashed to the river below--a complete wreck.

The project for the replacement bridge was a joint undertaking between the Texas and Oklahoma highway departments. Construction and maintenance costs for such interstate projects were usually financed equally by the states involved. The responsibility of preparing the plans, specifications, and estimate (PS&E) and of supervising the construction of any particular bridge alternated between the two bordering states. For the Red River bridge, CHC took on these responsibilities, with the consultation and approval of THD engineers.
According to an article in an unspecified Oklahoma City paper, Oklahoma was not eager to build the bridge, desiring instead to use funds for more pressing needs. Furthermore, Oklahoma officials pointed out, an adequate crossing over the Red River existed about 30 miles west on US 75. THD, however, pursued the project, possibly for political reasons. The article was quoted in January 28, 1937, issue of the Bonham Daily Favorite:

Sam Rayburn, Bonham, Texas, new floor leader of the United States house of representatives, has been in Congress since 1913, and John N. Garner, Uvalde, Texas, is vice president of the United States.

They are two very good reasons Oklahoma is soon to have half of a $369,061.27 bridge it does not particularly want.
The bridge is to be built across the Red river southeast of Durant, on state highway no. 22, connecting with Texas state highway no. 78, a few miles north of Rayburn's hometown of Bonham.

Reluctantly approved by the Oklahoma highway commission, and eagerly sought by the Texas highway commission, the bridge will replace one which folded up on account of age and exhaustion in January of 1934.

The quoted article continued with a claim that the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) responded to Oklahoma's reluctance in the following way:

Oklahoma suddenly discovered that its share of 1934-35 national recovery act road funds not already earmarked, had in effect been impounded by order of the bureau of public roads in Washington.

Not only was Oklahoma unable to obtain the use of NRA (sic) road funds to the amount needed for its share of the Texas-demanded bridge, but additional funds were also tied up.

So the Oklahoma Highway Commission had to capitulate.

Correspondence files do not clarify what transpired, but on August 24, 1935, BPR sent a letter to the Chairman of the Oklahoma Highway Commission in response to a "request that [BPR] release the NRS funds now earmarked for the construction of your portion of the proposed Bonham bridge."

This office has given careful consideration to your request and all the conditions which prompted the inclusion of this bridge as a contingent item of your program. As the records will indicate, the Bureau of Public Roads has an investment in the roadway leading to both sides of the proposed interstate bridge. In other words, we have invested Federal funds in the road in Oklahoma as well as in Texas. Naturally, with the bridge failure the entire serviceability of this roadway can not be made available to the traveling public. For this reason, we are of the opinion that the construction of a bridge over the Red River at this site is desirable...

In view of all conditions surrounding this project, please be advised that the request for the release of the NRS funds necessary for the construction of the bridge is disapproved.

We would be pleased to have you advise us as to when we may expect the project statement for this interstate bridge, so that the construction of the bridge may be advanced.

In a September 28, 1935, letter to OHC's Senior Highway Engineer, BPR further established its position:

The State has tried to avoid or delay its obligation to construct this bridge and has been advised of our unwillingness to make any changes to the program. It is our judgment that the State Highway Department should now take immediate and aggressive action looking toward the placing of the Bonhamn bridge under contract. Will you please take this matter up in a vigorous way with the State and advise them that effective steps should be immediately taken looking toward the construction of this bridge.

OHC bridge engineers proceeded with preparing the PS&E and submitted it for THD's review and approval. On reviewing the design, THD recommended the use of pier copings for an "enhanced appearance." Oklahoma Bridge Engineer Homer White responded in a June 22, 1936, letter as follows:

It has never been the practice of this department to tie the tops of pier shafts together with a horizontal beam or coping. We have never had any difficulty on account of the lack of such a tie beam. The matter of appearance is strictly a matter of personal opinion and the writer does not consider that tie beams enhance the appearance of the piers.

OHC bridge engineers chose to use standard design K-truss through spans and camelback pony spans for the interstate bridge. The K-truss, rather than employing one long diagonal, used two short struts meeting at the center. In this configuration, diagonal truss members were less prone to buckling. Despite this advantage, preeminent consulting bridge engineer J.A.L. Waddell (1854-1938) believed "... its inferior appearance will probably prevent it is being used to any extent." A few K-truss bridges survive in Oklahoma Perhaps for reasons of aesthetics, THD rarely used K-trusses and did not establish a standard design employing this truss type.
Apparently, most or all of the Texas examples were built jointly with Oklahoma for service over the Red River. Two that have since been replaced were located north of Ringgold, in Montague County, and in Gainesville, the Cooke County seat. The State Highway 78 Bridge is the last of these K-truss highway bridges remaining in Texas. At 2,108 feet, the bridge is also the fifth longest highway department truss bridge in the state.

OHC engineers prepared two estimates: the first, $348,602, was for a design employing caisson piers; the second, $349,872, used open pier construction. The PS&E they submitted for BPR's approval accompanied a request for NRS funds to cover the entire project cost. BPR granted approval of the project on October 16, 1936, and approved an allotment of funds based on the lower estimate. Half of this amount would be reimbursed to each state for its portion of the construction.

The two highway departments entered into a contract covering the bridge's construction and maintenance in the fall of 1936. The contract specified that duplicate bids be filed in Oklahoma City and Austin. On November 10, 1936, bids were opened at both locations. After reviewing the bids, both states agreed to award the contract to the Kansas City Bridge Company of Kansas City, Missouri, on its low bid of $335,510 for the open-type construction. The Illinois Steel Bridge Company of Jacksonville, Illinois, was subcontracted to fabricate the truss spans. Special provisions under NIRA covered "the use of domestic materials, the selection of labor, hours and conditions of employment, and hand labor methods." Under these provisions, all carpentry work and painting had to be performed without the use of power tools, such as mechanical saws and electrical drills.

Construction on the bridge began on February 16, 1937. Flooding occurred several times in 1937-1938 biennial, delaying construction. A June 1937 flood resulted in the loss of the cofferdam and falsework for one of the piers. More importantly, the high water was causing erosion of the riverbanks at the bridge site. This problem was first noticed while the project was in the planning stages. During the summer of 1935, the Red River flooded and began changing its course, resulting in the erosion of the north bank.

Preliminary planning for the mitigation of the erosion began with a search for stone suitable for bank protection. Finding nothing within a reasonable distance of the bridge site, OHC engineers decided to have permeable steel jetties installed for an estimated $60,000. As an extension of the bridge project, the work would be covered by NIRA funds. Bidding was held on March 22, 1938, and only one company, the Kellner Jetties Company of Topeka, Kansas, submitted a bid. Because the $36,290 bid was considered economical and reasonable, BPR approved awarding the contract to that company.

By April 15, 1938, bank erosion had proceeded far enough to threaten the bridge project. Fearing that the design of the north abutment might require revisions, OHC proposed to suspend construction of the substructure until the jetties were installed. The Kansas City Bridge Company suspended work on the bridge substructure from April 18 to mid-July. As work proceeded on the jetty installation, two change orders were issued to extend bank protection, first 875 then 1,400 feet further upstream, for a cost of about $23,600. The jetties were completed on July 31, 1938, and the contractor finished work on the bridge on October 20, 1938. The bridge construction totaled about $335,000; the jetties were built for just under $60,000.