Galveston Drawbridge – Epilogue

Long-time readers might recall some posts I did in 2012 talking about the ongoing Galveston lift bridge replacement project, where a 300′ wide lift bridge replaced the old 100′ wide bridge. The old bridge was removed and the new bridge entered service in February 2012. Here’s a view of the old bridge in service.

The original plan was to scrap this bridge, but in an opportune confluence of events, California’s Sonoma-Marin Area Rapid Transit (SMART) was able to acquire the bridge for just over $4 million dollars. Over the following 5 years, the bridge was disassembled, shipped to northern California, reassembled on site and installed over the Petaluma River.

Here’s an early 2017 view of the Galveston drawbridge in place adjacent to the original, 111 year-old bridge.

This image,from late 2017, shows the old Galveston drawbridge installed in its new forever home.

Lastly, a very well produced video that shows the old Galveston lift bridge in operation, albeit without any trains.