National Register Listing

State Highway 35 Bridge at the West Fork of the San Jacinto River

a.k.a. US 59 Bridge at the W. Fork of the San Jacinto R.;HR0177-06-

US 59, 1.4 mi. N of jct. with FM 1960, Humble, TX

The State Highway 35 Bridge at the San Jacinto River, built from 1930 to 1931, is significant for embodying the defining characteristics of a THD truss bridge. As such, it meets National Register Criterion C in the area of Engineering at a state level of significance.

The San Jacinto River bridge and relief structure were built on a branch of SH 35 (now US 59). SH 35 ran north-to-south linking Nacogdoches, Lufkin, Livingston, and Houston. By 1935, a southern extension was added from Houston to Corpus Christi through Bay City, Palacios, Port Lavaca, and Rockport. By 1942, the original section of the route, north of Houston, had been redesignated US 59.

The San Jacinto River bridge was built as part of a larger THD project to construct SH 35 between Humble and the Montgomery County line on a new location parallel to the Houston East & West Texas railroad line. In addition to the construction of the truss bridge, the project included new roadway grading and four concrete drainage structures: two relief structures (one has since been removed) and two drainage structures over Reinhardt and Garner's bayous. THD prepared the plans for the project and, because it was a federal aid project, the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) reviewed and approved them. The THD resident engineer in Houston supervised the construction, which engineers from both THD and BPR inspected.

THD bridge engineers chose the T22-200 design for the truss spans of the San Jacinto River bridge. The T22-200 is one of 25 THD standard designs that the Bridge Division developed for Parker through truss spans; only 11 of these designs are represented by Texas bridges today. The T22-200 was designed about 1930. The San Jacinto River bridge is one of only three examples of the T22-200 standard design surviving in Texas. With an overall length of 1,499 feet, the San Jacinto River bridge is the longest Parker truss bridge in Texas surviving from 1931 or earlier. The bridge's 30 concrete girder approach spans provide a lengthy approach of nearly 1,100 feet.

The Texas Highway Commission held bidding for the construction of the San Jacinto River bridge and the four smaller structures in September 1930. After reviewing the 11 bids submitted, the commission awarded the contract to the Standard Construction Company of Houston, which submitted a low bid of about $200,000. The Houston Structural Steel Company, owned and operated by the Mosher Steel & Machinery Company of Dallas, fabricated the truss spans. Work on the five structures began on October 14, 1930, and was completed on September 17, 1931. The total cost came to just over $211,000; the federal contribution was $100,000.

In 1941 and 1942, THD maintenance forces added ground line struts to three bents supporting approach spans to the San Jacinto River bridge. Sometime after 1944, THD maintenance forces shortened a portion of the bridge's concrete approach railing. This was done as part of a THD campaign promoting bridge safety initiated by DeWitt C. Greer, then State Highway Engineer. In 1944, he released Administrative Circular 3-44 encouraging districts to shorten Type C and Type D concrete bridge railing. Evidently, the standard railing height of just over 3 feet made bridges appear narrow, causing drivers to veer toward the center of the roadway and sometimes collide. By shortening the railing, the illusion of the narrow bridge relative to the approach roadway was lessened. In addition, the decreased railing height allowed truck overhangs to clear the railings. The retrofit was performed by sawing off the top of each concrete post, removing the upper row of railing, and casting a new top on each post. It is not clear why only one portion of the railing was shortened in this case.

In 1960 and 1961, THD responded to increasing traffic volumes on US 59 by constructing companion bridges on the west side of the San Jacinto River bridge and relief structure to serve southbound lanes. From 1971 through 1974, new structures were added to serve northbound lanes, and one of the original relief structures on the north side of the truss bridge was removed. The remaining relief structure and the truss bridge were retained in place on what became the northbound frontage road. This configuration lightened the traffic burden on the truss bridge, allowing for its preservation in place. Although the construction of the new structures has somewhat altered the setting of the truss bridge, as transportation facilities they are compatible with the use of the original bridge and therefore do not significantly compromise its integrity.

Local significance of the structure:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1996.