Photo courtesy of Longview Road and Bridge
Longview Road and Bridge recently completed the new $37 million bridge on State Highway 8, crossing Wright Patman Lake between Bowie and Cass counties.
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) recently opened the new and long-awaited bridge on State Highway (SH) 8 that links Bowie and Cass counties in the Texarkana area.
The $37.7 million, constructed by Longview Bridge and Road Ltd. replaces two smaller bridges built in the 1950s that crossed Wright Patman Lake.
Photo courtesy of Longview Road and Bridge
"The width of the old bridges was not up to our current standards for a highway like SH 8," said TxDOT Texarkana Area Engineer Tommy Bruce. "Our new bridge is going to be 44-feet wide, which includes two, 12-foot lanes with 10-foot shoulders on each side. The previous bridges were 26-feet wide."
The new structure, with several spans, replaced two smaller bridges that were built in the 1950's.
"We're so proud to open this new bridge that is longer, taller and wider than the former bridges," said Atlanta District Engineer Rebecca Wells. "Our ribbon cutting ceremony is a celebration of new infrastructure that is safer for the traveling public."
While open to traffic, Longview still has work to do to complete the job.
"What we have left to do is remove the existing roadway and the two existing bridge structures," said Longview Bridge and Road President Casey Johnson. "There's a little bit of tie-in work as far as the concrete paving on either end of the bridge at the approaches and several cubic yards of rock riprap to put in for slope protection. And, that will pretty well complete the project."
In a TxDOT video filmed during the construction, Johnson stated: "With the old bridges, we will demolish them down to where the ground is in the channel. You really won't be able to tell there was anything there."
Members of the community along with officials from both counties, joined in the ribbon cutting ceremony which was held on the old roadway with the new bridge in the background.
The bottom of the deck was not poured. Instead, cranes stationed on the old structures lifted prefabricated square-shaped concrete deck panels (1,000 lbs. each). Steel mats were then placed on the panels, followed by the pouring of the concrete deck.
The spans are held up by columns drilled into the riverbed. Each span has six prefabricated concrete beams on which the concrete panels were placed.
Photo courtesy of Longview Road and Bridge
"The main reason we replaced the old bridge on Highway 8 was because the width was not up to our current standards for highways," said Bruce. "My office managed the project. Now instead of the two bridges, it will be just one. When you see how much higher the new bridge is from the old bridge, [the difference is apparent]."
In another TxDOT video taken during the construction, Bruce stated "the bridge that is out there is a very narrow bridge, there is nothing wrong with it. It's been out there for a number of years. There is nothing wrong with it."
Longview, which has constructed many bridges for TxDOT, began the project in May 2019.
The new bridge is only a few feet away from the old ones.
The plan of attack permitted motorists to drive on the bridge and for Longview crews to use them as work platforms.
"Today is a special day, opening this new bridge that is longer, taller and wider than the former bridges," said Rebecca Wells, TxDOT's Atlanta District engineer, said at the ribbon-cuttong ceremony. "It's a celebration of new infrastructure that is safer for the traveling public. We really thank Longview Bridge and Road, the contractor on this job, for being a great partner on this project." CEG
Irwin Rapoport
A journalist who started his career at a weekly community newspaper, Irwin Rapoport has written about construction and architecture for more than 15 years, as well as a variety of other subjects, such as recycling, environmental issues, business supply chains, property development, pulp and paper, agriculture, solar power and energy, and education. Getting the story right and illustrating the hard work and professionalism that goes into completing road, bridge, and building projects is important to him. A key element of his construction articles is to provide readers with an opportunity to see how general contractors and departments of transportation complete their projects and address challenges so that lessons learned can be shared with a wider audience.
Rapoport has a BA in History and a Minor in Political Science from Concordia University. His hobbies include hiking, birding, cycling, reading, going to concerts and plays, hanging out with friends and family, and architecture. He is keen to one day write an MA thesis on military and economic planning by the Great Powers prior to the start of the First World War.
Read more from Irwin Rapoport here.
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