UPRR Railroad Bridge

The UPRR Railroad Bridge was originally built ca 1907 by the St. Louis, Brownsville, and Mexico Railway Company.   It's a center-pivot swing bridge, theoretically capable of pivoting to allow river traffic to pass, although it has not been opened for several years.

The SLBMRW merged with the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company in 1956, which in turn merged with the Union Pacific in 1997.   The railroad operates today as the Union Pacific, which still uses the bridge for revenue traffic.   Two or three dozen trains a day pass across it, most of which are drawn by UPRR locomotives, although BNSF and KSC locomotives are sometimes seen.

The UPRR Railroad Bridge as seen from the State Highway Bridge, looking southeast:

Following is a satellite photo of the railroad bridge and the adjacent state highway bridge.   The shadow of the bridge structure is clearly visible.
Credit: Wikimapia.org

Photos of the northeast approach as seen from the northwest:

Photos of the northeast approach as seen from the southeast:

Photos of the southwest approach as seen from the southeast:

New State Bridge

The State of Texas Department of Transportation plans to construct a new four-lane highway bridges between the two existing bridges. As part of the project, portions of SH332 and FM521 will be realigned to eliminate the 270-degree loop presently connecting the bridge to SH332.

Preliminary TX-DOT plans as of 2005:
Credit: Texas DOT

Proposed alignment (approximate):