State Highway 29 Bridge at the Colorado River
historic place
The State Highway 29 Bridge at the Colorado River is a historic place located in Buchanan Dam, Texas, spanning the Burnet and Llano county line. This bridge was completed in 1937 by the Austin Bridge Company. Its construction was part of a larger undertaking to reroute State Highway 29 around the Buchanan Dam, which was under construction beginning in 1931. The original roadway and bridge at Bluffton were inundated by Lake Buchanan after the dam's completion in 1937. The bridge features four 200-foot Parker through truss spans and eleven I-beam approach spans. The project cost totaled nearly $188,000. It was dedicated on October 16, 1937, as part of the dedication ceremony for both Buchanan and Inks dams. Speakers included U.S. Public Works Administrator Harold L. Ickes and Texas Highway Commissioner Robert Lee Bobbitt. The State Highway 29 Bridge at the Colorado River was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 10, 1996. Today, a newer bridge carries vehicular traffic, and this historic structure serves pedestrians. It remains significant for embodying the design characteristics of a Texas Highway Department truss bridge.