Bankhead Highway bridges -- in Lake Ray Hubbard, Rowlett TX
N 32° 54.439 W 096° 32.713
14S E 729584 N 3643685
The old Bankhead Highway bridges over Muddy Creek east of downtown Rowlett were abandoned in the 1960s and inundated in the 1970s by Lake Ray Hubbard.
Waymark Code: WMFQHA
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 11/18/2012
Views: 7
These two old Bankhead Highway bridges in Rowlett were closed to vehicle traffic in the 1960s, but the seeds of their demise were sown in the 1950s, when the Lake Ray Hubbard hydrological studies showed that the lake would inundate several segments of the historic road.
The Bankhead Highway opened in 1919. It was the nation's second transcontinental highway. It ran from Washingtion DC to San Diego CA. On the way, it passed through downtown Rowlett TX.
After just a few years, the Federal Government decided to move away from named highways in favor of a standard numbering system. Therefore, in 1926, the Bankhead Highway through Rowlett was renamed US Highway 67.
In 1961 US 67 was rerouted to run with the new Interstate Highway 30. This section of the old US 67 was renamed Texas State Highway 66.
In the 1960s SH 66 was rerouted a few hundred yards north as part of a major road upgrade to accomodate the new Lake Ray Hubbard reservoir. The access to this part of Bankhead Hwy/US67/SH66 road was barricaded. The asphalt road and bridges were left to the encroaching waters of Lake Ray Hubbard.
But although abandoned, visitors still came to the bridges. Fishermen tied up on the exposed bridge railings to keep their boats over a hot fishing spot. Daredevil kids would swim out to the bridges and jump off the railings, turning flips into the cool lake water below.
During the extreme 2010 drought, Lake Ray Hubbard was so low that you could walk on the old Bankhead highway roadbed to the bridges. Families came with picnics to explore what had been underwater for decades, including the remnants of NGS benchmark CS1125 U 149, which had been affixed to one of the bridges.
Although the water level has recovered since 2010, the bridges are never fully submerged even when the lake is completely full. The bridges are still publicly accessible, but usually only by boating or swimming to them. They are readily visible from SH66 as you drive over the bridge to Rockwall, or from a park at the end of Main Street at the water's edge.
Original Use: Vehicle - Car / Truck
Date Built: 1920
Construction: Concrete
Condition: Fair
See this website for more information: [Web Link]
Date Abandoned: 1960s
Bridge Status - Orphaned or Adopted.: Orphaned
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