Burned Bridge

[jgrindal]

Yesterday, my wife and I went trekking around downtown and came upon a dilapidated truss bridge over Buffalo Bayou under 59.

It appears that it supported a railroad at some point in time, it has a 2 part span, one supported by a wooden structure, the other a steel truss brudge. The interesting part is that the wood section has been burned, but is still standing. There are some photos of it in my Flickr Photostream (I can't link to them right now as work blocks Flickr)

Does anyone know what the story is behind this bridge? When was it decomissioned? What caused the fire?

I plan on returning next weekend to get some shots from the other side of the bridge. It's a great juxtaposition of this old rusting steel bridge directly under a very modern freeway system, and, unfortunately, the pictures that I got really didn't do the poor girl justice.

Location:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...06781&t=h&z=17

[tc95]

Looks like another fine job a contractor did....They were probably suposed to demo the bridge, however, it did not happen, they just built the other one on top....and figured no one will worry about it....

The problem I see is what happens when it does not stand under it's own weight..??

Ok now the good...that makes for a great shot...where was this exactly...??

[kenw]

Look at Z_Malloc's 3rd pic in this thread:
http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum...ad.php?t=90839

is that it?

[mdparthum]

I believe, if I am not mistaken, that bridge caught on fire a couple weeks ago. Is it near Channel 11 KHOU's studio? If it is, it is the one that recently caught on fire.

[kenw]

the recent (Jan 4) fire was located on an abandoned trestle near Shepherd, just north of IH10 near The Heights. No trains have used the trestle in at least 10-15 years.

This is not the bridge under the US59/IH10 interchange, which I believe the OP was mentioning.

[mdparthum]

I wasn't for sure, I just looked over KHOU's archive and it was the South Brown Heights Bridge that was on fire. Thanks.

[jgrindal]

Originally Posted by kenw

Look at Z_Malloc's 3rd pic in this thread:
http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum...ad.php?t=90839

is that it?

Yes! That's my bridge!
Anyone know the story on it?

[kenw]

Once I get by there to have a look see, I can probably figure out what is going on. Most likely the rails were moved to their present route and in many cases the old bridges are just left since dismantling them is more costly ($$ and environmentally) than just leaving them as is. The rails in that area have been re-routed a lot over the last few years, the area in general is a very busy place for trains thru Houston.

[Polimom]

Hi Justin -- I paddled under that bridge a couple of weeks ago and shot a bunch of it and then blogged about the paddling trip.



Heard almost immediately from the Buffalo Bayou Preservation organization, and they seem to know quite a bit about it, but I didn't ask specifics. You might contact Trudi Smith (tsmith@buffalobayou.org) -- she's the director of PR and events -- and see if she can shed some light on that bridge's history for you (and all of us?).

[kenw]

basically, it is a lift bridge. Or was.....it isn't going to lift anymore. More technically, a single-leaf fixed trunnion bascule bridge.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bascule_bridge

In daryl's pic, the hinge is on the right side, you can see the curved gear that rotates thru the arc as it rises. Normally there is a counterweight above that end that helps it raise the other end, but that appears to have been removed.

[Z_Malloc]

Originally Posted by kenw

In daryl's pic, the hinge is on the right side, you can see the curved gear that rotates thru the arc as it rises. Normally there is a counterweight above that end that helps it raise the other end, but that appears to have been removed.

The counterweight is still there, it was just moved away from the bridge as a sight to see.

[Z_Malloc]

For those that are interested where it is.....I had a PM a while back about where it is so I will paste my reply for directions in here.....

SNIP-----

It is right here: Link

Now you cannot actually see it on that map I gave you, but (looking at the map link i sent you) the best way to get to it is to find Nance at West street in the northeast corner of the map page.

Then you see the wide road that leads off to the south and goes under 59 and ends in a cul-de-sac. There is a gate there, but it is open. Drive down to there and park, or (depending on your vehicle) drive down the dirt tracks that you can see on the map to the west towards the larger concrete area and park in there. You should be able to see the bridge off to the west under the freeway.

If not, look on the middle of the map on 59 you will see a yellow 18 wheeler going north on 59. The bridge is right under that 18 wheeler. If you zoom the birds eye in all the way you can barely see a hint of the bridge under the highway.

Hope you find it....it's not that hard. The hardest part is working your way through downtown to get to Nance and West street. Make sure you check out the giant concrete counterweight that it used.

Good luck!

P.S., while you can get to it from the south of the bayou easier, I would not go there because you have to go into 1919 Runnels (Clayton Homes) which is government housing. You and your vehicle's safety is important, I would avoid going that way. The route I gave you is just jogging / bicycle trails.

[Steelsun]

Just SE of the location on the map is one of my "Secret" spots: Corner of McCall & Shiloh.

That place is a field with a different view of the Houston Skyline in back. Did a headshot for a client there.
Might be possible to park there and treck to the bridge also (via the entrance to the south for the jogging track on the north side of the bayou)