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The Fayette County Record
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Published 1 year ago
Last updated 1 year ago
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A 140-Year-Old Bridge With an Amazing Story to Tell

By Andy Behlen
The Historic Willow Springs Bridge Over Cummins Creek Being Renovated
  • The Willow Springs Bridge currently sits on the south bank of Cummins Creek while contractors build new concrete approaches. Pct. 2 Commissioner Luke Sternadel said it took a 100-ton crane to pick up and move the bridge. The bridge itself does not weigh that much, but it took such a large piece of machinery due to the tricky nature of navigating the creek-bottom terrain.
    The Willow Springs Bridge currently sits on the south bank of Cummins Creek while contractors build new concrete approaches. Pct. 2 Commissioner Luke Sternadel said it took a 100-ton crane to pick up and move the bridge. The bridge itself does not weigh that much, but it took such a large piece of machinery due to the tricky nature of navigating the creek-bottom terrain.
  • Workers with Fuqua Construction of Navasota were building the approach on the north side of Cummins Creek Tuesday morning. Photos by Andy Behlen
    Workers with Fuqua Construction of Navasota were building the approach on the north side of Cummins Creek Tuesday morning. Photos by Andy Behlen
  • A metal cutout attached to the bridge reads DFW 1949-2004. Pct. 2 Commissioner Luke Sternadel said it was placed there two decades ago in memory of the late Donnie Frank Watkins of Carmine, who loved to fish at this spot on Cummins Creek.
    A metal cutout attached to the bridge reads DFW 1949-2004. Pct. 2 Commissioner Luke Sternadel said it was placed there two decades ago in memory of the late Donnie Frank Watkins of Carmine, who loved to fish at this spot on Cummins Creek.

State contractors have been busy restoring an interesting piece of local history – the old iron truss bridge across Cummins Creek on Willow Springs Rd.

Tucked away in the far northeastern corner of Fayette County, this bridge was once the only way to get across Cummins Creek in this area.

“It’s one of the few remaining truss bridges,” Sternadel said.

It’s one of oldest, if not the oldest, bridge in Fayette County. Built in 1885, it was originally designed for horse and buggy traffic.

Several years ago, Rox Ann Johnson of the Fayette County Historical Commission petitioned the Texas Historical Commission to designate the bridge as a historical landmark.

“I’ve been worried about it for years, that it was going to go the way of the Haw Creek Bridge,” Johnson said.

The old iron-truss Haw Creek Bridge, located just a few miles away, was bypassed by a concrete bridge in the 1990s. It sat abandoned for many years until the County auctioned it off in 2021. Thankfully, a local landowner bought it and is using it to cross a creek on his property. In many other cases, the old iron-truss bridges were simply cut up for scrap iron. When Johnson heard several years ago that the Willow Springs bridge was up for replacement, she thought a historical designation could save it.

“Then it all kind of evolved,” Johnson said.

Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) routinely partners with counties on bridge replacement projects. Usually, TxDOT hires contractors to build new concrete bridges. But in this case, the agency decided to restore the old iron-truss bridge, much like they did with the historic Piano Bridge in southern Fayette County back in 2012.

“A lot of those old bridges get taken out and replaced with concrete ones,” Sternadel said. “It’s not everyday you have an old truss bridge that gets refurbished.”

TxDOT let out the project for bids in 2022. Fuqua Construction of Navasota won the contract with a low bid of $1,089,896.94. Construction started earlier this year. On March 5, the contractors brought in a heavy crane to lift the bridge off its foundation. They placed it on the south bank of Cummins Creek while workers refurbished it. The contractors build new approaches on both sides of the bank. Once complete, the bridge will sit a few feet higher.

Sternadel said TxDOT initially estimated a completion date in June or July, but he said it could take a little longer. The Texas Historical Commission officially named the bridge as a state historical landmark in 2021 and issued a historical marker for it. Johnson said she hopes to organize a marker dedication ceremony after the bridge is completed, possibly this fall.

Sternadel said the bridge means a lot to many in the surrounding area. Folks often stop and take pictures on the bridge, he said. While visiting with the Record at the construction site this week, he pointed out a small homemade metal plaque attached to the bridge with a cutout of the initials DFW and the years 1947-2004. Sternadel said the sign memorializes the late Donnie Frank Watkins of Carmine, who died in 2004 at the untimely age of 57. Sternadel said Watkins was well-known in Carmine and the surrounding area, and the Willow Springs Bridge was one of his favorite fishing spots. His friends erected the sign after his death.

Johnson added that in 2014, a group of painters, poets and writers affiliated with the Fayetteville-based nonprofit Arts for Rural Texas memorialized the bridge through various paintings and other works of art. Some of their work can be viewed online at https://willowspringsbridge. weebly.com

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