From the Texas Standard.
As recently as 1989 there were almost 1,300 metal truss bridges in the state. Now, we’re down to around 130 — just 10 percent of what we had 25 years ago.
Metal truss bridges were built in Texas by the hundreds in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They were relatively inexpensive to put up and their strength and beauty came from the metal design reaching up on either side of the bridge.
In the heartbreaking romance "Bridges of Madison County," Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep fall in love while tracking down Iowa’s covered bridges. Those are the kind of old truss bridges Paul Pape remembers fondly from growing up in Indiana.
Listen to the rest in the audio player above.
