Photographer: Kevin Stillman
Region: Gulf Coast
The town was originally called Prairie View for its location on the coastal
prairie. When the Rainbow Bridge was completed in 1938 over the Neches River
linking Orange County to Port Arthur, the name changed to Bridge City.
The two-lane, vintage Rainbow Bridge spans salt marshes and industrial river
channel for 1.5 miles and has a 176-foot clearance height. Parallel to the
Rainbow Bridge, the Veterans Memorial Bridge was completed in 1991. With a
143-foot navigation clearance, it is the first cable-stayed bridge on Texas
highways.
Industrial growth came with the channeling of Cow Bayou and the presence of
nearby oil fields and petrochemical plants. www.bridgecitytex.com.
Nearby Cities: Silsbee, Lumberton, Kountze, Nederland, Kirbyville, Orange, more...