Regency Suspension Bridge
Richland Springs, San Saba County, Texas
Marker Inscription
After a series of tragic floods washed out earlier Colorado River crossings here, San Saba and Mills Counties jointly built this bridge, named for the Mills County community of Regency. The Austin Bridge Company of Dallas completed construction in October 1939. The road deck hangs suspended from two steel cables, each measuring three-and-a quarter inches in diameter and consisting of 475 strands of Galvanized wire. Restored by the Texas Department of Transportation in 1999, this is one of the last suspension bridges open to vehicular traffic in Texas. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2019
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
After repeated floods destroyed earlier crossings of the Colorado River here, San Saba and Mills Counties joined forces to build this bridge, named for the Mills County town of Regency, with the Austin Bridge Company of Dallas finishing it in October 1939. Its road deck hangs from two steel cables more than three inches thick, each spun from 475 galvanized wire strands. Restored by the Texas Department of Transportation in 1999, it is one of the last suspension bridges in Texas still open to vehicle traffic.
Why it matters
A working suspension bridge on a rural county road is a rare survivor of Depression-era engineering that tamed a flood-prone river and kept a remote community connected.
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Related events
- · Austin Bridge Company construction (1939)
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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