The
Regency Bridge, locally known as the "Swinging
Bridge," is a one-lane suspension
bridge over the Colorado
River in Texas
.
It is
located at the intersection of Mills County
Road 433 and San Saba County
Road 137, both gravel roads, near a small community
called Regency. The bridge saddles Mills and San Saba
counties.
The bridge has a span of 325 feet (99 m) and a wood surface. It was
built in 1939, with most of the work being done by hand. The bridge
was restored in 1997, with then
Governor
Bush attending the rededication service. This was a major event
for the community of around 25 people.
Vandals set the wood surface on fire on
December 29, 2003
[99757], burning a hole in some planks. The
bridge has since been repaired and reopened to traffic.
A nearby
historical marker,
located on the southeast side of the intersection of
FM 574 and Mills County Road 433 (which
is just east of the intersection of FM 45 and FM 574) reads:
This area's first Colorado River bridge was at Regency, on
Mills-San Saba County line. Built 1903, it served ranchers
and farmers for going to market, but fell in 1924, killing a boy, a
horse, and some cattle. Its successor was demolished by a
1936 flood. With 90 per cent of the work done by hand
labor, the Regency Suspension Bridge was erected in 1939.
It became the pride of the locality, and youths gathered there
in the 1940s to picnic, dance, and sing. Bypassed by paved
farm roads, it now (1976) survives as one of the last suspension
bridges in Texas.[99758]
File:100 4572.JPG|Driving over the Regency Bridge on November 22,
2005.File:Regency Bridge Load Restriction.JPG|5000 lb (2300 kg)
weight limit. Sign is on northbound approach (Mills County Road
137) to Regency Bridge.
References
External links