The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1912-05-28
ENGINEERS DESCRIPTION
Of GALVESTON CAUsEWAY
Structure of Earth, Steel and Com
crete Reaches From Galveston
Island to Mainland.


: ing the mainland of Texas to Gal
weston Island. 1t has total length
of 1852 feet, or a little more thar
: two miles This total length i:
made up OF a causeway proper OIL
filled and protected roadway, on
1.-THE mainland side of the bay 4,64t
feet long. a reinforced concrete
arch bridge portion measuring s.4a7
feet from back to back Of end shut-
meats with a basoule or Scherzer
type lift bridge. having clear
opening of 100 feet, in the center
of this arch bridge, and a eauseway
or filled and protected roadway on
the island side of the bay $3.50 feet
long The causeway is spoken OF
as the protected roadway portion.
the arch bridge portion and the lift
bridge
The lift bridge is forty-four feet
wide and carries two railroad tracks
+ for the steam roads. one interurban
track for the Galveston-Houston in
3terurban. and the county highway,
( The two steam road tracks occupg
twenty-seven feet of the bridge ana
the interurban and county highway
seventeen feet. An iron hand rail-
separates the steam tracks from the
interurban tracks and the county
highway. The life bridge is less
in width by twenty-five feet than
the arch bridge portion. the differ
ence being on the side where the
county highway crosses. The coun
ty roadway in crossing the bridge
goes onto the interurban tracks.
There can be no danger of acci-
dents between vehicles and interur-
ban cars, however. for there is an
interlocking device with gates, so
that when the county roadway is
open the interurban tracks are
closed, and when the interurban
tracks are open the county roadway
is closed
The arch bridge portion has a
width of sixty-six feet, including
the space occupied by the concrete
railing. OF this the steam roads
have twenty-nine feet, or room for
two tracks, the Galveston-Hou
interurban fifteen feet, and the
county highway is separated from
| the interurban tracks by a reinforc-
ed concrete railing which extends
all the way across the causeway on
both the arch bridge portion and
, the protected roadway.
: of the structure, or the causewa
n proper, has a width of 10 feet a
e the top, of which fifty feet is re
r served for the steam roads. twenty
seven feet for the interurban anc
forty-three feet for the county high
way
The axis of the structure, or its
central line, runs almost parallel to
! the old Santa F'e railroad trestle
which has been in use since 1900
by all the steam roads entering Gal
weston across the bay. This cen
trail line lies southwest of this rail-
road trestle 317.2 feet at the island
end and S24 feet at the mainland
end
OF all the causeway, the lift
bridge and the immense pivot pier
on which it rests is the most I'M
posing piece of construction. The
figures giving the weight of the
bridge and pivot arc almost beyond
comprehension When the bridge
is lifted to allow boats to pass in
the channel it stands 165 feet in
the air and is imposing in its mas
siveness. The bridge itself weighs
3,283,O00 pounds, of which 100
tons is solid steel and the remand
er is made up of 500 cubic yards
of concrete used as counterbal-
ance
To sustain this immense weight,
for when the bridge is poised in
mid air its entire weight rests on
I one pier an immense pivot pier
was constructed The contract for
the construction of this pivot pier
alone would compare favorably
with any concrete construction con
tract ever let in the Southwest out
side of the causeway. After dig
ging TO the hard clay that underliel
the bay at depth of from clever
TO eighteen feet, there were driver
into space 7Sx53 feet, the siz,
, of the pier, 532 30-foot creosotet
pine piling. On this foundation o
. piling there were then pumpe'
, $500 cubic yards Of concrete mix
ture, weighing approximately 1900
! 900 pounds. Embodied in this mas
? Of concrete as reinforcement were
, placed 5000 pounds of steel bars
and on top of 1t all was placed tn
. massive steel bridge, weighing 9
2S3,000 pounds This means tina
: the pivot pier Of the Lift bridge /
: supporting total weight of 10,
! SS6,200 pounds, and in addition
the weight of trains and all traffi
that passes over it. The founda
ton of the pivot pier was put dow
to sustain this weight, the engin
GERS who built the causeway full