Thursday, April 17, 2014

Galveston railway causeway and bridge, Texas

 
 
 
 
 
The original causeway was built in 1912 and carried both rail and auto traffic. It involved a bascule span which was replaced in 1989 and again with a modern lift bridge in 2012; this included widening the channel it crossed from a mere 105 ft (32 meters) to about 300 feet (91 meters). The total length was 7,930.0 ft. (1.5 miles or 2.417 km), the deck width was 60 ft (18.3 meters) and the elevation was 8 ft. The original railroad owner was Gould Lines, Harriman Lines & Santa Fe, today BNSF.  The auto traffic was transferred to new causeways built to the west in 1939, leaving the original bridge for rail traffic. The original causeway was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

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