Montopolis Bridge

{{Infobox bridge

| name = Montopolis Bridge

| image = Montopolis bridge 2013.jpg

| image_upright =

| alt =

| caption = Viewed from the north in 2013

| coordinates =

| carries = Bicycle and pedestrian crossing (formerly {{jct|state=TX|US|183}} frontage road)

| crosses = Colorado River

| locale = Austin, Texas

| owner = State of Texas

| maint =

| id = 142270026501034

| id_type =

| design = Parker through truss

| material = Steel

| material1 =

| material2 =

| length = {{Convert|1221|ft|m}}

| width = {{Convert|24|ft|m}}

| height =

| depth =

| mainspan = {{Convert|200|ft|m}}

| number_spans = 9

| piers_in_water =

| load =

| clearance_above = {{Convert|19|ft|m}}

| clearance_below =

| lanes = 2

| life =

| architect =

| designer = Texas Highway Department

| engineering =

| builder = Vincennes Steel Corporation

| fabricator =

| begin = February 15, 1937

| complete =

| cost = $232,000

| open = {{Start date|1938|02|11}}

| inaugurated =

| traffic =

| toll =

| extra =

{{Infobox NRHP

| embed = yes

| name = Montopolis Bridge

| coordinates = {{coord|30|14|44|N|97|41|29|W|display=inline,title}}

| locmapin = Texas#USA

| architecture =

| added = October 10, 1996

| area = less than {{Convert|1|acre|ha}}

| mpsub = {{NRHP url|id=64500638|title=Historic Bridges of Texas MPS}}

| refnum = 96001118{{NRISref|version=2010a}}

}}

The Montopolis Bridge is a historic Parker through truss bridge in Austin, Texas. It is located in the Montopolis neighborhood where a bicycle and pedestrian walkway crosses the Colorado River in southeastern Travis County. The bridge consists of five 200-foot Parker through truss spans and four 52-foot steel I-beam approach spans resting on reinforced concrete abutments. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 10, 1996.{{cite web |title= Montopolis Bridge |publisher= Bridgehunter.com |url= http://bridgehunter.com/tx/travis/142270026501034/ |access-date= November 24, 2011}} The Montopolis Bridge sits at the best crossing of the Colorado River in the area with the historic crossing of the El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail just to the east.{{cite web |title=Montopolis Bridge |url=https://www.nps.gov/places/montopolis-bridge.htm |website=nps.gov |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=23 July 2024}}

History

On June 15, 1935, the city of Austin suffered a devastating flood along the Colorado River. The original Montopolis bridge, built by Travis County in the late 1880s, was one of five bridges washed away by the flood. The Texas Highway Department designed the current bridge and requested federal emergency relief funds from the Bureau of Public Roads to rebuild it.[http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/viewform.asp?atlas_num=2096001118&site_name=Montopolis+Bridge&class=2002;&form_display=SUMM Montopolis Bridge.] Texas Historic Sites Atlas. Texas Historical Commission. Work on the bridge began on February 15, 1937. The bridge was completed on February 11, 1938, by Vincennes Steel Corporation under contract to the Highway Department at a cost of nearly $232,000 ({{Inflation|US|232000|1938|fmt=eq|r=-4}}).{{cite web |title= Montopolis Bridge |publisher= Find the Data |url= http://historical-places.findthedata.org/l/24659/Montopolis-Bridge |access-date= November 23, 2011}}

The Montopolis Bridge remained in use until 2018 and, as one of the principal routes to the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport from Downtown Austin, was fairly busy. The southbound frontage of U.S. 183, Airport Boulevard and East 7th Street all merge at the north side of the bridge. In 2006, 29,200 vehicles crossed on average each day. The bridge was decommissioned for vehicular traffic on October 8, 2018,{{cite web|url=https://www.183south.com/construction-information/major-activity|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014053144/https://www.183south.com/construction-information/major-activity|title=Major Activity - 183 South|url-status=usurped|archive-date=October 14, 2018}} and was subsequently converted to a bicycle and pedestrian bridge as part of the Bergstrom Expressway Project.{{Cite news|title=Montopolis Bridge in East Austin gets facelift before opening for hike-and-bike trail|first=Mary|last=Huber|date=October 16, 2019|newspaper=Austin American-Statesman|url=https://www.statesman.com/news/20191016/montopolis-bridge-in-east-austin-gets-facelift-before-opening-for-hike-and-bike-trail|access-date=January 14, 2020}}

Montopolis Bridge May 2020.jpg|Deck during conversion to pedestrian use in 2020

Austin Skyline from Montopolis Bridge.jpg|Austin skyline from the bridge

Colorado river montopolis.jpg|The Colorado River in the Montopolis area