Bluff Dale Bridge

Erath County

County Road 149 at the Paluxy River, vicinity of Bluff Dale, Texas

History

In 1891, Texas bridge builder William Flinn assembled this highly unusual cable-stayed bridge using iron pipes, rods and castings. Wrapped wire cables complete the 140-foot invention. Crossing the Paluxy River near rural Bluff Dale, this technological wonder remains as the earliest known cable-stayed bridge in the United States.

Above photo by Todd Ashby, Texas Department of Transportation. Below photos also by Texas Department of Transportation.

View a HAER Drawing of Bluff Dale Bridge.

© 2003 Historic Bridge Foundation. Photos by Texas Department of Transportation.