Titus County, Texas History - The South Jefferson Railroad Overpass

Division Engineer Dockery agreed to recommend that the Highway Commission construct the South Jefferson overpass if the new highway right of way was secured quickly.

In early 1930, Texas Highway Commissioner Johnson and State Engineer Gibb Gilchrist visited Mt. Pleasant briefly. Citizens found out about their visit and showed them the dangerous grade crossing while they were here. They immediately saw an overpass was needed, and since they didn't need higher approval, ordered money set aside for its construction. The Highway Commission allocated $42,000 to construct the overpass on Thursday, March 20, 1930. After four years, it seemed things had finally begun to move. However, local officials would later find out that looks can be deceiving.

Highway Department engineers came to Mt. Pleasant on Tuesday, May 13 to survey for the proposed underpass. By July 24, County Judge Lazarus received a letter from Highway Department Engineer A. J. Goode of Paris stating that overpass plans, estimates, and specifications would be completed soon and sent to Austin for approval. The overpass still depended on Titus County's Commissioners obtaining right of way needed to re-route Highway 49, and the proposed highway and overpass were estimated to inject about $75,000 into Titus County when it was needed the most. On September 4, 1930, ten members of the Chamber of Commerce's City Planning Commission decided to increase interest in the overpass by recommending that the Chamber pressure the Commissioners to secure the needed right of way, and appointed a committee to meet with the Commissioners' Court to urge immediate action.

Mr. Gilchrist told a local man he thought the Highway Commission might consider starting work on the overpass without requiring the Highway 49/65 right of way. After considerable discussion, the Chamber of Commerce decided in their October 27, 1930 meeting to send Mr. Gilchrist a telegram asking him to start the overpass without having the Highway 49/65 right-of-way. H. L. Smith talked with Mr. Gilchrist and reported to the Chamber on November 3, 1930 that Mr. Gilchrist said the State would not agree start the overpass unless the Commissioner's Court signed a contract agreeing to secure right of way for Highway 49 from Highway 65 to Hart's Creek bottoms within two years, and that they would not consider another route. This being said, the Chamber appointed a committee to secure deeds for the proposed road and also for Jefferson Street beginning at the southeast corner of the square, which was part of the project. The committee started work the next morning and made substantial progress, getting several property owners' signatures.

Practically all property owners along Highway 49's proposed route signed right of way deeds, and the Commissioner's Court ordered condemnation proceedings to secure the remaining right of way west from Hart's Creek bottom to the city limits to begin in December, 1930. The commissioners asked the City to condemn land inside the city limits needed to insure that work on the overpass would be started, and wired the Highway Commission to advise them of this.

Highway Department Division Engineer Pirie visited Mt. Pleasant on April 29, 1931 and said he was certain the Highway Commission would let bids for the overpass at their next meeting. Mr. Pirie said he told commission the overpass was needed immediately, and that the order making the overpass contingent on securing Highway 65 right of way had been rescinded. The overpass project was originally connected with the Highway 49 project, and all requirements for that road had been met. The new division engineer wanted to co-operate with Titus County, and apparently had a different attitude from his predecessors. Mr. Pirie said that as soon as deeds secured for Highway 65 right of way were returned to the division office, the Highway Commission would begin graveling Highway 65 in Titus County.

By May 22, 1931, steel girders and other construction materials for the overpass furnished by the Cotton Belt had arrived and were unloaded in their machine shop yards. However, word leaked out about the same time that things hadn't gone the way they appeared. Cotton Belt surveyed the site six years before and appropriated funds for the overpass the next year. They had simply been waiting all that time on the Highway Commission to act. On January 5, 1931 the Highway Commission finally agreed to authorize the Cotton Belt to construct the overpass, except for the grading, which the Highway Department would contract. The Cotton Belt purchased all the materials needed, but the Highway Commission delayed starting the grading while they lead local officials to believe that a contract must be awarded for all of the work before any could begin.

On May 29, 1931 Engineer Gibb Gilchrist of Austin, Division Engineer Pirie of Paris, and Representative R. M. Hubbard of New Boston, a former Highway Commissioner, visited Mt. Pleasant to inspect the proposed overpass site. Some Titus County highway construction projects no longer depended on each other, and the men offered encouragement that overpass construction would begin soon.

On July 8, 1931 the City Council decided to remove sewer and water lines along South Jefferson at the overpass site and replace them with larger new lines. They changed some sewer lines along West Arizona Street and laid a six inch water main from the square to about a hundred and fifty feet south of the overpass so they could provide the south part of town with all the water they might need without tearing up the street, and to improve fire protection in the south part of town. The Council expected new houses to be built on good residential lots available in southern Mt. Pleasant due to the new road and water availability.

Overpass construction contracts were awarded on Monday, July 20, 1931. The overpass was to be 32 feet wide with a 14'6" clearance above the street. The Cotton Belt would construct the concrete and steel span using its own plans and specifications, and overpass construction would be done under the Cotton Belt engineer's supervision. L. B. George, contractor for Highway 49 grading and drainage, was awarded the overpass dirt work contract. He sublet the excavation to H. L. Hess and John B. Stephens, Sr., who performed all grading from the southeast corner of the square to the overpass and excavation under the railroad.

Work began Friday, August 14, 1931 when Cotton Belt's pile-driver began sinking 110 twenty-eight foot pilings to support temporary trestles to for each track to be used until the permanent overpass was complete. Dirt work on the road began Friday, September 11, 1931. Almost all temporary overpass bridge work was complete, and a steam shovel began excavating the highway underpass that morning. Grading work on Highway 49 started at one o'clock Friday afternoon when J. D. George's big steam shovel, which could do the work of several teams and scrapers, began cutting into the hill just west of the Hart's Creek bottoms.

Pouring concrete abutment footings and pillars for the east side of the overpass was completed by Saturday, September 26, 1931, but the west side had not been started. Walls to hold the heavy steel span supporting the tracks would rest on the footings and pillars once they were complete. The entire overpass had to be complete before dirt could be removed from the grade crossing, which was expected to take at least another month. The last concrete culvert on Highway 49 was almost complete, and grading the east end of the road was progressing well. It appeared that work on Highway 49 would be complete by the time the overpass was finished.

Work on the east concrete overpass abutment was finished by Wednesday, October 21, and the large steam shovel began back-filling them with dirt. Dirt work to prepare for constructing the west abutment and pillars was started and would be complete in a few days.

Setting the custom-made steel girders to support the railroad tracks began on December 4. Cotton Belt sent its big steam crane and a crew to Mt. Pleasant that afternoon to begin setting the steel. Considerable riveting and pre-assembly was required before the girders could be set on the concrete piers, but they were expected to be set by mid-December.

It's a rather mundane and under-appreciated part of Mt. Pleasant's infrastructure that you never consider as you enter the business district on South Jefferson, or at least until traffic was disrupted in 2007 to make necessary road repairs, but this is the story of the construction of the South Jefferson Cotton Belt railroad overpass and the re-routing of Highway 49 to its present location at the intersection of what is now South Jefferson and U.S. Highway 271 South.

Mt. Pleasant's Jefferson Street is actually U.S. Highway 271. We have not yet determined when Jefferson Street became part of the highway system, since local newspapers preceding 1923 were lost years ago. As part of the U.S. Highway system, Jefferson Street is maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT).

In the 1920s and 30s, South Jefferson carried two way traffic, and was the main southern thoroughfare in and out of the city. The strip of South Jefferson from the square to its current intersection with Highway 49 was also part of Highway 65, the Pittsburg highway back then.

Traffic wasn't as heavy as it is today, but everyone entering or leaving downtown Mt. Pleasant to the south had to cross the Cotton Belt tracks at a grade crossing, not to mention out of town travelers who had to pass directly through downtown on the highway back then. Small businesses who depended on the highway for their livelihood lined South Jefferson from the square to the south corners of Arkansas Street. A service station sat on the southeast corner of South Jefferson and Arkansas to serve the traveling public. There were numerous accidents at the grade crossing, which rated as one of the most dangerous in Northeast Texas.

Highway 65, or the "Pittsburg highway" followed pretty much the same route that South Jefferson does today to the south end of Priefert Manufacturing Company's outlet lot, then crossed the railroad at another grade crossing. From there to Cypress Creek, Highway 65 ran west of the railroad and there were several other grade crossings between Mt. Pleasant and Pittsburg. Part of old Highway 65 is now Titus County Road 2200, which runs south from Texas Farm Road 1735 toward Cypress Creek.

Mt. Pleasant officials requested that the Texas Highway Commission replace the grade crossing in south Mt. Pleasant with a railroad overpass in 1925. Titus and Camp County officials and the Texas Highway Commission were all concerned about the dangerous grade crossings along Highway 65 between Mt. Pleasant and Pittsburg. Judge E. L. Myers of Mt. Pleasant and Senator Lloyd E. Price of Daingerfield spent a few days in Austin in October, 1925 on other business. While there, they and County Judge Hooten and Engineer Chappell of Camp County visited the State Highway Commission to request state aid in constructing a new highway from Mt. Pleasant to Pittsburg, which would be built east of the Cotton Belt tracks along the route now followed by U.S. 271. Highway Commission engineers had already designed such a highway, and included the South Jefferson railroad overpass in its design, but money was tight during the Great Depression and funds weren't readily available to build it.

The large dragline had excavated considerable dirt almost to grade level from the south side of the overpass by January 21, 1932. Dirt from south of the overpass was hauled to fill Highway 49 where needed. Laborers using picks and shovels had almost completed removing dirt from under the trestle by hand.

Work would soon shift to the north side of the railroad, where the most dirt had to be removed. Some of that dirt was used to fill Jefferson Street leading to the square, where considerable filling was required, and the street had already been improved somewhat.

Division Engineer Pirie from Paris was in Mt. Pleasant on February 25, 1932 to inspect work on the overpass. Excavation was almost complete on Jefferson, and the dragline reached the intersection of South Jefferson and Arizona streets at noon, where workers had to stop to wait for city water mains to be lowered. City Engineer Don Nolte was arranging to lower them immediately.

Mr. Pirie instructed the contractors to move the dragline near the square to remove soft dirt recently unloaded in the street that had made it impassable for several days. Motorists had considerable trouble negotiating detours along the route, since Mt. Pleasant had very few streets in the area that could be used to divert traffic. (Do you notice a familiar problem here?) After dirt was removed to the proper level, rock and gravel was placed on the street so businesses fronting South Jefferson were not isolated.

In latter March, 1932, workers encountered an unexpected problem - the same one that led to South Jefferson being closed and pavement under the overpass replaced in 2007. Running springs were uncovered while lowering the street's grade to obtain proper clearance under the railroad. Therefore, considerable subsoil drainage had to be designed and built before the permanent road surface could be laid. By then, the Highway Commission had moved Titus County out of District Engineer Pine's district in Paris to District Engineer W. D. Dockery's division in Atlanta, which delayed work slightly until the new officials became familiar with local conditions.

Meanwhile, the new section of Highway 49 from Hart's Creek to the overpass had been graded smooth enough to be traveled, and many people had already begun using the new road.

Mt. Pleasant Daily Times, Mt. Pleasant, Texas

Tuesday, January 22, 1924

CROSSINGS UNDER TRACKS NEEDED

GREAT NEED OF THIS AT THE DAINGERFIELD AND P1TTSBURG ROADS

Considerable agitation of the danger of the grade crossings on the roads leading from this place to Pittsburg and Daingerfield where they pass over the Cotton Belt tracks is being made by officials here.

Where these roads cross the railroad tracks is one of the most dangerous places for miles, as the highways require heavy grades to take them to the rail road level. The amount of traffic on these two roads in the city limits is simply enormous and it is almost marvelous that there have not been many accidents there already.

Judge D. M. Cook at the last Rotary Club luncheon brought attention to the club that if this matter were constantly brought to the attention of the Cotton Belt officials, they together with the county commissioners, could probably arrange to finance the putting in of crossings which will pass under the tracks and thereby eliminate all danger at these two places.

A large number of the business men of Mt. Pleasant are receiving weekly letters from the president of the Cotton Belt system in regard to railroad matters, and if the people who get these letters will write to Mr. Upthegrove, calling attention to the necessity of doing away with these two dangerous, grade crossings, the letters will have considerable effect.

Mt. Pleasant Daily Times, Mt. Pleasant, Texas

Friday, August 14, 1931

UNDERPASS WORK IS BEGUN FRIDAY

AFTER YEARS OF DELAY PROJECT NOW ASSURED OF COMPLETION

Actual work on the construction of the underpass to be built at the grade crossing over the Cotton Belt tracks in the south part of town was begun Friday morning.

The Cotton Belt's pile-driver began the work by sinking piling into the ground to support the temporary trestles that will be built to support each track until the concrete abutments for the underpass are completed and the steel span set on them. There are 110 of the pilings, the longest of which is 28 feet.

When completed, the underpass will accommodate a roadway that is 32 feet in width and fourteen and a half feet in height, giving ample clearance for all ordinary traffic. There will be no center pier, the steel bridge spanning the entire width of the roadway.

The underpass will prove to be a great benefit to all of Mt. Pleasant, as it will accommodate all vehicles traveling into and out of the city over Highway 49 and Highway 65. It will make the south side of town more accessible to the business section, at the same time eliminating a dangerous grade crossing. As a result, property will become more valuable in that section, and it is expected that South Mt. Pleasant will develop rapidly, as there are many good residence sites south of the tracks.

This project was started six years ago, when a survey was made by Cotton Belt engineers, and the railroad has had an appropriation available for this work for the past five years, awaiting action by the Highway Commission.

Mt. Pleasant Daily Times, Mt. Pleasant, Texas

Saturday, September 12, 1936

Death Crossings Being Generally Removed in Texas

Austin. Sept. 11.- (INS)- Death traps at 833 railroad-highway intersections have been removed from Texas highways since September, 1927, according to data from the highway department.

The dangerous crossings were removed by underpasses in 233 cases, overpasses at 130 crossings, and by relocating highways at 470 places.

Crossing changes were accomplished, in most instances, by co-operative action by the State, municipalities, and the railroads.

Listed by the department as among the most important crossing eliminations were those at Wichita Falls, Dallas, Houston, Schulenberg, Round Rock, Texarkana, Sweetwater, Weatherford, Fort Worth, Waco, Abilene and Mt. Pleasant.

Under federal grants in aid, the highway department is pushing forward the grade crossing elimination work, and in cases where the roads cannot be run around, under or over at a practical cost, signal lights and other warning devices are being placed at the crossings.