“Trails to Treasures” celebration to restore historic Eastside treasure

Bridge is oldest metal truss in the city, and one of only six of its kind in Texas

The Hays Street Bridge Restoration Group—a grass roots committee drawing from neighborhood groups, engineers, City agencies, the San Antonio Conservation Society and bridge preservationists—has been working together since 2000 to save and preserve the historic Hays Street Bridge, a Texas Historic Civil Engineering Landmark (one of only two structures in San Antonio to earn this honor). The group is sponsoring its first fundraiser “Trails to Treasures" on Wednesday, March 2nd to benefit the restoration of the wrought iron, trussed bridge.

The bridge is to be restored into an integral "Hike and Bike" trail that will connect the Salado Creek Greenway Hike and Bike Trail with proposed and existing downtown bicycle routes, as well as planned San Antonio River bicycle and pedestrian improvements. Since the eastside has been effectively isolated from downtown since the construction of IH-37 in 1969, the bridge will also reconnect downtowners with the historic areas of the eastside of San Antonio, including the St. Paul Historic District, Carver Cultural Center, eastside cemeteries, Healy Murphy Historic District, Dignowity Hill Historic District and Ellis Alley enclave. Completion is scheduled for early 2007.

Commencing from the VIA Ellis Alley Park and Ride, guests to the “Trails to Treasures" fundraiser will journey by shuttle to glimpse the first treasure (Hays Street Bridge) and then on to the second Eastside treasure (the Red Berry Mansion) for a celebration with spirits, food by the RK Group, and music by Mombasa Code. Buses will continually shuttle between Ellis Alley and the mansion—a 12,000-square-foot historic estate on 86 acres, once owned by the flamboyant Senator Red Berry. Nestled among a huge pecan orchard on the banks of a 12-acre lake, the Red Berry Mansion was the home of the alleged bootlegger, who remains famous “for his suggestion -- in the 1960s -- that Texas be divided into two states, north and south, so the southern half could have its fun enjoying horse racing, gambling and drinking, while the northern half had its fun being outraged over what the southern half was doing.”

Reservations for the event, which lasts from 5 to 7:30 p.m on March 2, are $50 each. For more information, invitations or reservations, call 224-6163 or 492-1137. Reservations are limited and must be received by Feb. 28. Parking and registration occurs at Ellis Alley Park and Ride, on the east side of Hwy. 281, just north of Commerce Street, on the corner of Chestnut and Center streets. No parking is allowed at the Red Berry Mansion.

HISTORY: The bridge was constructed around 1887 by the Morgan Steamship Lines as part of a lengthy railroad bridge across the Atchafalaya Basin near Morgan City, Louisiana. When this rail line was upgraded, the spans were purchased and relocated to San Antonio in 1910 by the Texas & New Orleans Railroad Company and the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railroad Company (both subsidiaries of the Southern Pacific Company). The railroad companies wanted to lay railroad tracks across a number of eastside San Antonio city streets, but were required by the City to provide overpasses at New Braunfels Ave. and Hays Street. The companies widened the spans from 16’ to 25’ and constructed new support piers, approaches and a bridge deck to accommodate vehicles and pedestrians as a viaduct over the new rail lines, and served as the only above grade railroad crossing from downtown to the eastside. The Hays Street Bridge consists of two spans—the 226’ Whipple-Phoenix truss (named after the company in Pennsylvania that designed it), and the shorter 129’ Pratt truss—and is one of six remaining bridges in Texas using the historically significant Whipple-Phoenix truss.

On July 23, 1982—after carrying horse drawn carriages, Model Ts and then more modern autos for more than 70 years—the bridge was deemed structurally unsound, and permanently barricaded and closed to vehicular traffic. On October 13, 1983, the City Council authorized TX Dot (Texas Department of Transportation) to replace the bridge. Two years later, the city approached Southern Pacific Railroad Company), the owner of the bridge, about acquiring the bridge to relocate it and replace it with a new one. Southern Pacific (now owned by Union Pacific) agreed to sell it to the city “for $1 with the stipulation that it be removed in one year with provisions for mantling, storage and extensions, if necessary.” A lack of funding to reassemble the trusses led to the demise of these negotiations.

In the late 1990s, concerned citizens and organizations stepped in to find a way to save the structure. Led by neighborhood advocate Nettie Hinton and civil engineer Douglas Steadman, PE, the group battled City Hall to prevent the demolition of the bridge. The persistence of these two has been credited with saving the bridge.

“There is something about a bridge, whether a quaint New England covered bridge or the structurally magnificent Verranzano Narrows Bridge or a romantic one like the Golden Gate Bridge, celebrated in lore as a place to find love or to lose it forever,” says Hinton. “A bridge is something more than a way to get from one place to another; more than just a way to spin a gap. The Hays Street Bridge, with its origins in Louisiana, is a reminder of those times when physical barriers to work, home, commerce, leisure and culture cost a society more than time and money. Such barriers separated and isolated; they cost us the comforting feeling of community. Bridges, on the other hand, link us, providing a safe way to cross a divide, be it physical or perceptual.”

“I was at a State Engineering meeting in 2000 when I heard a presentation about a historic bridge in Waco that was moved and converted for pedestrian traffic,” says Steadman. “That gave me the idea for the Hays Street Bridge project. The broken surface laced with thistle and ragweed, scarred by years of neglect, is far more than a sad example of urban decay…it is a piece of art. All of the support given for this project, beginning with my 11-year-old granddaughter Sha, has truly made this a pleasurable experience in my long engineering career.”

In 2002, the bridge restoration project was designated by the Texas chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) as its project for commemorating the Society’s 150th.

Anniversary in 2002. Other honors awarded to the bridge is the bridge’s designation as a Historic structure by the Texas Historical Commission; it is also eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

TX DOT FUNDING: In 2002, plans to restore the bridge became a reality when 80% of the restoration project costs ($2.9 million) were guaranteed by the Texas Department of Transportation (under TEA-21 legislation) from the Statewide Transportation Enhancement Program which sponsors transportation projects designed to enhance the quality of life, including historic preservation activities, provision of facilities for pedestrians and bicycles, and the rehabilitation and operation of historic transportation buildings, structures or facilities.

The remaining twenty percent of the matching grant is being raised over three years by the Hays Street Bridge Restoration Group beginning with $50,000 from the Conservation Society, and donations from many engineering firms, area businesses and engineering societies. Other key sponsors include Zachry Foundation, BudCo Ltd. of San Antonio, CocaCola Enterprises Bottling Co. of the Southwest, Valero Energy Corporation, Fugro South, Civil Engineering Consultants, H.D.R. Engineering, Drash Consulting Engineers, Daisy Tours, Structural Engineering Associates and the San Antonio Express-News.

The Hays Street Bridge Restoration Group consists of Marcie Ince (chairman), June Bratcher, Brian Chandler, Nettie Hinton, Gary Houston, Joel Williams, Darryl Ohlenbusch AIA, Douglas Steadman P.E., Kathleen Trenchard and Bernice Williams.

Hosts for the fundraiser include Lamar Smith (U.S. Representative); Jeff Wentworth (Texas State Senator); Ruth Jones McClendon (Texas State Representative); Nelson Wolff (Bexar County Judge); Tommy Adkisson (Bexar County Commissioner); Ed Garza (Mayor, City of San Antonio); Joel Williams (Councilman, District 2); Ron Segovia (Councilman, District 3); Patti Radle (Councilwoman, District 5); Enrique Barrera (Councilman, District 6); Chip Haass (Councilman, District 10); Milton Guess; Phil Hardberger; Barbara Johnson; Bill Lewis; Bill Tidwell; and Duane Wilson.

“The journey across the Hays Street Bridge will connect not only the Eastside to the River, but also will bridge our memories of days long ago in a simpler time. It serves as a link to our past and a gateway to the future. Please join us Wednesday and help preserve an old bridge and your cherished memories,” says Marcie Ince, chairman of the restoration group and second vice president (overseeing Missions, Parks-Plazas, Rivers-Waterways and All Natural Beauty) of the Conservation Society.