State Highway No. 78 Bridge at the Red River

State Highway 78 Bridge at the Red River
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
State Highway 78 Bridge
Location	SH 78 and SH-78
Nearest city	Yuba, Oklahoma
Coordinates	33°45′10″N 96°11′45″W / 33.75278°N 96.19583°WCoordinates: 33°45′10″N 96°11′45″W / 33.75278°N 96.19583°W
Built	1937
Built by	Illinois Steel Bridge Company, et al
Architect	Oklahoma Highway Commission
Architectural style	K-truss through bridge
MPS	Historic Bridges of Texas MPS
NRHP Reference #	96001517[1][2]
Added to NRHP	December 20, 1996

The Highway 78 Bridge at the Red River is a seven-span through truss bridge^[3] over the Red River between Oklahoma and Texas on Oklahoma State Highway 78/Texas State Highway 78. It was built as a federal relief project during the Great Depression as part of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. Today the bridge and the area retain the look and feel of the time of its construction. As part of Highway 78 the bridge's average daily traffic (as of 2006) was 1,700 cars per day.^[3]

History

The State Highway 78 Bridge at the Red River replaced a suspension bridge that collapsed on January 15, 1934. The former bridge had been opened as a toll bridge in July 1927. It was purchased by Oklahoma and Texas for use as a free bridge.^[4] It collapsed in a storm after the swinging bridge's wire cables became twisted and snapped.^[4]

As a Federal Relief Project^[5] funded by the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933^[4] construction began on February 16, 1937.^[4] It was completed in 1938.

The bridge marks the location of Sowell's Bluff.

Architecture

The Oklahoma Highway Commission designed the bridge. Constructed in 1937-1938 by the Kansas City Bridge Co. of Kansas City, Missouri.^[3][4] the bridge is designed as a rare example of a K-Parker through truss bridge with camelback pony spans.^[3][5] The bridge consists of eight rivited K-truss through spans with two camelback pony truss spans at each end.^[4]

The Illinois Steel Bridge Company of Jacksonville, Illinois was subcontracted to fabricate the trusses.

Overview

• Length of largest span: 210.0 ft.
• Total length: 2,108.0 ft.
• Deck width: 24.0 ft.
• Vertical clearance above deck: 15.9 ft.^[3]

References

1. National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
2. "Oklahoma Historical Society State Historic Preservation Office".
3. Baughn, James (October 27, 2008). "Red River OK 78 Bridge". Historic Bridges of the U.S. Retrieved March 28, 2009.
4. "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form - State Highway 78 Bridge at the Red River" (PDF). United States Department of the Interior. September 6, 1996. Retrieved March 28, 2009.
5. "STATE HIGHWAY #78 BRIDGE AT THE RED RIVER". National Register Properties in Oklahoma. Retrieved March 28, 2009.