Abandoned Bridges

[editor]

In another thread people are talking about an abandoned road at the Addickes reservoir. There's a link in one of the replies to a web site which features this abandoned road.

Elsewhere on that excellent web site, however is this link, which shows an abandoned bridge. What looks like a very new one. Does anyone know anything about this?

[gnu]

In another thread people are talking about an abandoned road at the Addickes reservoir. There's a link in one of the replies to a web site which features this abandoned road.

Elsewhere on that excellent web site, however is this link, which shows an abandoned bridge. What looks like a very new one. Does anyone know anything about this?

its the back entrance to the goodyear plant. the new bridge was built when they put in the new sims bayou channel in the early 90's. but because of the first gulf war and plant security issues they closed it and never reopened the road to traffic.

[TJones]

In another thread people are talking about an abandoned road at the Addickes reservoir. There's a link in one of the replies to a web site which features this abandoned road.

Elsewhere on that excellent web site, however is this link, which shows an abandoned bridge. What looks like a very new one. Does anyone know anything about this?

Just remember, these are our tax dollars at work !

[sevfiv]

the goodyear plant...ack...rotting tires EVERYwhere

also, over on that side of the tracks, there are neat old electric poles/lines with the glass insulators still attached

[gnu]

also, over on that side of the tracks, there are neat old electric poles/lines with the glass insulators still attached

i have also noticed glass insulators on the old poles along mykawa near garden villas.

btw. where are the rotting tires? i have never noticed them

Edited May 23, 2006 by gnu

[sevfiv]

i have also noticed glass insulators on the old poles along mykawa near garden villas.

btw. where are the rotting tires? i have never noticed them

last time i was by there, in the woods, there were quite large piles of old rubber

come to think of it, this might be more northeast of this area, near schaff st.

[foxmulder]

There is also an abandonded neigborhood on Earth st near the ship channel.

[sevfiv]

There is also an abandonded neigborhood on Earth st near the ship channel.

is that Erath St.? (south of clinton, just west of 610)

[TheNiche]

is that Erath St.? (south of clinton, just west of 610)

Isn't Erath in old Harrisburg?

Strikes me as though that's the neighborhood being referred to, since a big chunk of the grid was bought up by Union Pacific and utilized as a major junction.

[sevfiv]

the tires are to the side of the beginning of the first bridge/road...the ones i previously saw down by schaff st. have apparently been cleaned up

anyhow, the bridge was really neat - and there were lots of fish jumping around in the water...the first picture is looking away from the goodyear plant (toward park place) and the last two are the tires on the left side of the beginning of the bridge (looking toward the plant).

[editor]

Dude, I so can't believe you went!

[Montrose1100]

How does one find the bridge, and unfamilur with that area?

[sevfiv]

Dude, I so can't believe you went!

oh please

helps to only live about two miles away, too

How does one find the bridge, and unfamilur with that area?

if you can find your way to park place, take it north(east) until it ends

[Ashikaga]

In another thread people are talking about an abandoned road at the Addickes reservoir. There's a link in one of the replies to a web site which features this abandoned road.

Elsewhere on that excellent web site, however is this link, which shows an abandoned bridge. What looks like a very new one. Does anyone know anything about this?

This bridge in right by where I lived over 40 years ago. It would be dangerous for kids to play on. They could fall into the bayou through the parts of the rail that have broken off.

[foxmulder]

oh please

helps to only live about two miles away, too

if you can find your way to park place, take it north(east) until it ends

Me too! I went today it's weird because the old bridge seems to have settled lower than the new one, the city might've not wanted to fix it. It's real narrow like one car wide at the entrance. The neighbor hood i refered to is Erath and San Antonio street, it was closed down in the 90's i assume as i remember people we used to visit lived on the street. Yes, that's near the ship channel.

[Ashikaga]

Me too! I went today it's weird because the old bridge seems to have settled lower than the new one, the city might've not wanted to fix it. It's real narrow like one car wide at the entrance. The neighbor hood i refered to is Erath and San Antonio street, it was closed down in the 90's i assume as i remember people we used to visit lived on the street. Yes, that's near the ship channel.

If it is unused, in my opinion, it should have been destroyed for safety's sake. Who wants another Billy Joe McAllister incident?

[Montrose1100]

I don't think anyone could kill themselves from a bridge of that height...

[Ashikaga]

I don't think anyone could kill themselves from a bridge of that height...

I meant that kids could fall into the bayou and drown.

[sevfiv]

I meant that kids could fall into the bayou and drown.

come to think of it, there's an aparment complex right next to the entrance to the bridge...

[Ashikaga]

the goodyear plant...ack...rotting tires EVERYwhere

also, over on that side of the tracks, there are neat old electric poles/lines with the glass insulators still attached

I was going to say that that bridge might be good to fish off of, but there might not be any fish, being so close to a plant. Waste from industry might have killed all of the fish in that part of the bayou.

[sevfiv]

I was going to say that that bridge might be good to fish off of, but there might not be any fish, being so close to a plant. Waste from industry might have killed all of the fish in that part of the bayou.

ohhh there were fish...i am not sure what kind (or how many heads they had) but they were definitely there. and turtles. and a significant amount of trash

[gnu]

ohhh there were fish...i am not sure what kind (or how many heads they had) but they were definitely there. and turtles. and a significant amount of trash

Probably a fair number of gar in there. oh...and mullets .

Edited June 16, 2006 by gnu

[RedScare]

Probably a fair number of gar in there. oh...and mullets.

Mullets?

[gnu]

Mullets?

not this:

probably closer to this:

[Ashikaga]

ohhh there were fish...i am not sure what kind (or how many heads they had) but they were definitely there. and turtles. and a significant amount of trash

That's what I meant. I was thinking that all of that trash combined with the industrial waste would have killed all of the fish and the turtles (now if it had killed all of the snakes, I wouldn't have had any problem with that).

[gnu]

That's what I meant. I was thinking that all of that trash combined with the industrial waste would have killed all of the fish and the turtles (now if it had killed all of the snakes, I wouldn't have had any problem with that).

It doesn't KILL them it just gives them super powers or extra cool body attributes

[mblaise]

In another thread people are talking about an abandoned road at the Addickes reservoir. There's a link in one of the replies to a web site which features this abandoned road.

The abandoned road at Addicks Reservoir is the old section of Addicks-Fairbanks Road (now called Eldridge Parkway).

Elsewhere on that excellent web site, however is this link, which shows an abandoned bridge. What looks like a very new one. Does anyone know anything about this?

[texianjoe]

At one time you were able to drive through the plant and come out on 225. It is the same as Goodyear Dr.. That was in the 70s. They tried to close it but since it was a public road they had to reopen, then after the threat of terrorist attacks and all that they finally closed it permanently. I think I read they kept the bridges so in an emergency they can evacuate the plant by opening the gate.

But I am a little confused this is no where near Addicks reservoir.

joe

[jwphillips2]

Probably a fair number of gar in there. oh...and mullets .

Lots of Gar in Buffalo Bayou behind Kinkaid. Kids would pull in 6 and 7 footers. You need to zoom in on those teeth!

[Goatman79]

For those of you who are on the hunt for old abandoned bridges, I located one earlier this year within the confines of the Addicks Reservoir, directly along the western shoulder of the elevated portion of SH-6 that runs through the reservoir. The bridge is in two sections, a north and a south section, crossing over South Mayde Creek.

Before SH-6 was built at an elevated height through the reservoir (circa 1968), the road was a simple asphalt road which sat at ground level, and was known only as Addicks-Satsuma Rd. There was a slight bend in the road near South Mayde Creek which was eliminated in the new SH-6 elevated stretch, but today, the old bend can still be found, as it is home to these two sections of old bridge.

Due to a lack of detailed information on the road, I can only assume these bridges, which were constructed in the late 1950's, were replacements for earlier wooden bridges. Addicks-Satsuma Rd. dates way back to the beginning of the 20th century, so there had to be something there to cross the creek. These two sections of abandoned bridge are somewhat modern in design, with concrete and steel on the deck surface, and a wooden substructure that has remained relatively intact to this day. Unfortunately, these new bridges only served for about ten years or so before SH-6 was elevated, and this bend in the road was bypassed altogether.

Some forty years after being abandoned, these two bridge sections remain, nestled about 10 feet below the sidewall of SH-6 on the west side, just a few hundred paces from the dam itself. The south bridge is in much better shape, and you can still explore underneath it. There is a large amount of old discarded beer cans and tires from the 1970's scattered around. There are also ruins of what appeared to be some concrete culverts or possibly stability points for some type of superstructure.

The north bridge, which is all the way on the other side of the creek, is much harder to spot, as it has been almost completely engulfed by topsoil, and the side rails are all gone. On either side of the bridge, you may also notice a metal gate. This pair of gates used to open and close as needed to prevent drivers from crossing the bridge during floods. Now, they are just ghostly reminders of what used to be.

I have pictures but cannot figure out URL codes, nor do I care to. If you visit my webpage, you can view over a dozen photos of the bridges. www.westhoustonarchives.org , and go to the abandoned roads page. The bridges are listed alphabetically after Addicks Clodine Rd, and Addicks- Fairbanks Rd.