Bunton Branch Bridge

Hays County

County Road 210 at Bunton Branch near Kyle, Texas

History

Located on County Road 210, just northwest of the Bunton Overpass, this small concrete arch bridge has the distinction of being the oldest concrete bridge in Hays County, and one of only a few known surviving bridges left on the Old Austin-San Antonio Post Road. The bridge is composed of a single, reinforced concrete arch span, resting on concrete abutments founded on natural stone. Plainly detailed, the arch has an elliptical shape with a line of coping running across the top of the parapet railing. This small arch was constructed in 1915 under a federal aid program to improve rural delivery of mail on the Austin-San Antonio road. The Austin-San Antonio Post Road became the first federally funded highway in the state, serving as a model for highway construction programs that would follow with the establishment of the Texas State Highway Commission in 1917.

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