South Llano Crossing

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the South Llano Crossing, out there in Kimble County. Now, if you've ever rolled into Junction, Texas, you know the town sits right where the North and South Llano Rivers come together. That's been both the blessing and the burden of this place since the very beginning, since the town's founding in 1876.

Because when you've got a river, you've got to cross it. And crossing the South Llano River, well, that has been a major concern for the citizens of Junction from day one. The original crossing point sat slightly south of that junction of the two rivers.

Bridges came and went along that stretch over the years. But the one that really put Junction on the map, in a manner of speaking, was the bridge built in 1916. That bridge was built to accommodate travelers along the Old Spanish Trail Highway, the transcontinental route that was carrying people across this big country.

A transcontinental highway coming right through Kimble County. Junction was on the map all right. But time has a way of wearing things down.

That 1916 bridge eventually became functionally obsolete, and so the town went to work on another one. A modern bridge, completed in 1937. And here's where the story gets quiet for a moment, because it deserves that.

In the last days of construction, in the rush to get that bridge finished, a man named Joe R. Andrews was killed. Right there, at the end of the job.

That's the kind of detail that gets smoothed over when we talk about progress, about completed projects and ribbon cuttings. But the marker remembers Joe R. Andrews, and so do we.

The bridge he helped build still stands today. And what it overlooks now is something none of those 1937 workers could have pictured: Lake Junction, created by a dam built in 1965. A whole lake where the river used to run free.

Some crossings, it turns out, are about more than just getting to the other side.

What the marker says

The spanning of the South Llano River has been a major concern for the citizens of Junction since the town's founding in 1876. The original crossing point was located slightly south of the junction of the North and South Llano Rivers. Although earlier bridges existed along this stretch of the river, a bridge built in 1916 accommodated travelers along the transcontinental Old Spanish Trail Highway. When the 1916 bridge became functionally obsolete, another modern bridge was completed in 1937. Joe R. Andrews was killed during the last days of the bridge's construction, in the rush to complete it. Today, the bridge overlooks Lake Junction, created by a dam built in 1965. (2008)