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The
Bankhead Highway was one of the first PAVED transcontinental highways
in the United States. Its beginnings can be traced back to 1916, when
traveling across the United States by automobile was very perilous
undertaking. With no system of paved roads, a traveler was subject
to the weather, bad roads, washed out bridges, no fuel, no food...
all sorts of problems!
The road extended from Washington, D.C. to San Diego, California.
Its path crossed approximately 850 miles of Texas,
passing through Texarkana,
Mount Vernon,
Dallas, Rowlett,
Fort Worth, Abilene,
Midland,
Van Horn and El
Paso, roughly following today's US
67 and US 80.
Near the town of Rowlett,
there is still a small stretch of the original highway, hidden in
the underbrush and trees, away from the city's development and growth.
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One of Two of
the original train trestles from the Bankhead Highway that remain
in Rowlett,
Texas. This one is near Lake Ray Hubbard, and that is actually
an extension of Main Street that runs under it.. and into the lake!
Photo
courtesy Texana
Pictures - Frank R. Brown, February 2017 |
The second train
trestle - Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has actually built a new
track over this 90 year old bridge, so it is still in use!
Photo
courtesy Texana
Pictures - Frank R. Brown, February 2017 |
In 1922, there
were few lights about after dark, and a traveler driving down the
road might not see a bridgepost. To help, four vertical reflectors
were placed on all bridgeposts. If you were driving and saw four verticle
lights, you knew that a bridge was ahead. Interestingly, many of these
old reflectors are still intact!
Photo
courtesy Texana
Pictures - Frank R. Brown, February 2017 |
Related Article:
America's
Broadway by Clay Coppedge
The Bankhead Highway was one of America's first cross-country
highways, originating in Washington, D.C. and terminating in San
Diego, California. Named for Alabama senator John Hollis Bankhead
(grandfather of actress Tallulah Bankhead), the highway was billed
as "America's Broadway."
Parts of the main highway and several branches ran through Texas,
leaving some to assume that it was strictly a Texas thing... Read
full article
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