Low Water Crossing, Pfluger Grove Park

The first public improvement project initiated by Pflugerville's Park Commission — a low water crossing over the creek in Pfluger Grove Park, funded by proceeds from the 1985 Deutschen Pfest and built in early 1986.

Before the bridge was built, residents who lived north of the creek crossed using rocks, boards, or whatever they could find to make a makeshift crossing. Sometimes there was something to walk across — sometimes there wasn't. The location wasn't random: this had long been a traditional crossing. There used to be a gate in the fence to a pasture here, and neighbors would pass through it to get to the park. It was also a natural livestock crossing point, and there was a deep swimming hole nearby where local kids used to swim before Pflugerville became suburbanized.

The bridge was funded with profits from the 1985 Deutschen Pfest. The concrete was poured on Friday, March 14, 1986 — built by Buddy Priesmeyer's companies, Central Texas Tiltwall and Austin Ironworks. The plaque on the bridge still reads: "Built with proceeds from Deutschen Pfest — 1985." At the time, Pfluger Grove Park was the only parkland the city owned, and this was well before the continuous trail system along the creek existed.

The Park Commission spent a lot of time discussing the design of the crossing and its approaches. The final design intentionally kept the bridge just above the waterline so people could sit on the edge and interact with the creek. The approaches were left as natural rock to slow down bicyclists and discourage skateboarders. Aesthetically, the bridge was designed to stay subtle — scaled so when someone sits quietly watching the water and the trees, the bridge becomes part of the landscape rather than dominating it. No one knows how many times it has been underwater in the last forty years.

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