Rainbow Bridge
Bridge City, Orange County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The rapid growth of the petrochemical industry in Orange and Jefferson counties in the early 20th century led to increased population in this area. In order to serve the transportation needs of workers and others in this vicinity, the Dryden ferry was established in 1926. It soon proved inadequate for the volume of traffic, however, and plans began for the construction of a bridge to span the Neches River. Jefferson County, the State of Texas, and the Federal government (through the Public Works Administration) all provided funding for the bridge's construction. While the citizens of Orange County also supported the project, the county's economic situation did not permit monetary assistance. Construction of the bridge began in 1936, and was not completed until over two years later. Measuring 176 feet in height and 7760 feet in length, it was the largest bridge ever built by the State of Texas up to that time. Dedication ceremonies were held on Sept. 8, 1938, attracting a crowd of approximately 20,000. Among the activities were a boat regatta on the river and a stunt diver's plunge from the top of the bridge into the water below. The structure was officially named "Rainbow Bridge" in a 1957 contest. (1990)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
As the petrochemical industry boomed along the Neches River in the early 20th century, the little Dryden ferry could no longer carry the flood of workers and traffic. Funded by the county, the state, and the federal Public Works Administration, construction of a soaring span began in 1936 and took more than two years. At 176 feet high and over 7,700 feet long, it was the largest bridge Texas had ever built, dedicated in 1938 before a crowd of some 20,000—and christened 'Rainbow Bridge' by a public contest in 1957.
Why it matters
The bridge is a monument to Depression-era public works and the industrial rise of the Gulf Coast, where oil and chemicals demanded infrastructure on an unprecedented scale.
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Related events
- · Public Works Administration
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Rainbow Bridge
Port Arthur, TX
By the early 20th century the marshy country where the Neches River meets the Gulf had become one of America's great petrochemical corridors, and the boomtowns of Jefferson and Orange counties needed a way across the water. After a seven-year campaign led by a local newspaper and an American Legion post, Depression-era public works money finally financed a state highway bridge, dedicated in 1938. Engineer G. G. Wickline threaded nearly a mile and a half of soft river bottom and raised the central span high enough to clear a Navy ship carrying a moored dirigible — briefly the highest roadbed over tidal water anywhere. A 1957 Lions Club contest gave it the name everyone now uses: the Rainbow Bridge.
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