Oct. 10, 1938: Airview of construction of Lancaster Avenue bridge and overpass
Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives/UT Arlington Special Collections
The West Lancaster Avenue bridge opened on June 14, 1939, though it took a couple more years before construction crews blasted through the bluffs on the east side of Trinity River to actually connect the new road with Summit Avenue.
As the Star-Telegram history columnist Carol Roark has written, the new bridge featured “handsome railings and terra cotta panels depicting the face and horns of Texas Longhorn cattle.” Before the new bridge, people had to use the West 7th Street bridge to get west of the river.
Here are Star-Telegram photos of the West Lancaster Avenue bridge under construction, the grand opening and the subsequent linking with Summit Avenue at the top of the bluff in 1942.
Oct. 10, 1938: Airview of construction of Lancaster Avenue bridge and overpass Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives/UT Arlington Special Collections
Oct. 10, 1938: Aerial view of construction of W. Lancaster Ave. bridge, looking east toward downtown. Montgomery Ward, Casa Manana-Frontier Centennial buildings and construction of Farrington Field in lower right. Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives/UT Arlington Special Collections
June 14, 1939: West Lancaster Avenue bridge formal opening. A parade of officials who made the first public crossing of the bridge with a police escort, Fort Worth, Texas. Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives/UT Arlington Special Collections
June 14, 1939: West Lancaster overpass and bridge dedication ceremonies. Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives/UT Arlington Special Collections
June 14, 1939: West Lancaster Avenue bridge opening attendees J. A. Elliott, division engineer for US Bureau of Public Roads, and T.C. Jones, chairman of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce highway committee. Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives/UT Arlington Special Collections
Nov. 7, 1941: West Lancaster Avenue in Fort Worth, where a new link between Penn Street bluff and the Trinity River Bridge will be constructed. In the distance many trees can be seen along with a few houses. The construction will be completed by the Dallas, Texas, contracting firm of Ben Sira and Company. Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives/UT Arlington Special Collections
Nov. 12, 1941: Construction work began in Fort Worth on the $134,000 cut and fill to link the east end of Trinity River Bridge with West Lancaster Avenue at Summit Avenue. The view, west from the bluff above the bridge, shows 12-foot graders at work. Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives/UT Arlington Special Collections
Jan. 24, 1942: View of improvement and construction work being done on West Lancaster Avenue in Fort Worth, Texas. Automobiles, tractors and other machinery are shown on the dirt road at the right. In the background are various buildings. Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives/UT Arlington Special Collections
Dec. 3, 1941: Cutting through rock at top of West Lancaster Avenue bluff for the cut and fill project to connect Trinity Bridge with Summit Avenue, three workmen cut loose a blast of eight sticks of dynamite. At right, J. W. Suritt bends over the battery which sets off a charge buried deep in rock. Above the bluff is a brick building with many windows and few trees. Behind the workmen is some construction equipment. Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives/UT Arlington Special Collections
Dec. 3, 1941: A large power shovel digging out rock and loading it in trucks after workmen blasted dynamite at the West Lancaster Avenue bluff for a cut and fill project that will connect Trinity River Bridge with Summit Avenue. Standing around the power shovel are a few construction workers and some parked cars. Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives/UT Arlington Special Collections
July 23, 1942: Fort Worth City Council has authorized the installation of traffic signals at the Summit Avenue intersection of this nearly completed link of West Lancaster Avenue. The new bridge across Clear Fork of the Trinity River is shown in the background. Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives/UT Arlington Special Collections
Dec. 23, 1942: A dedication ceremony to celebrate new “Gateway to West Texas,” the connection between West Lancaster Avenue and the new bridge across Clear Fork of the Trinity River, which was opened for traffic. A crowd of people are standing at the far right of the road and a few people are standing at the left. At the right, one man is standing at a podium and speaking into a microphone. Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives/UT Arlington Special Collections
Oct. 31, 1950: Aerial shot of Fort Worth’s West Lancaster and Summit traffic. Herbert, Key Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives/UT Arlington Special Collections
MORE: Check out other historic photo galleries from the Star-Telegram archives here, including these:
Matt Leclercq is senior managing editor at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He previously was an editor at USA Today in Washington, national news editor at Gatehouse Media in Austin, and executive editor of The Fayetteville (NC) Observer. He’s a New Orleans native.
