Photo by Erin Crider

NASA Road 1 bridge will be closed beginning April 4 at 10 p.m.

Motorists can expect delays, again and again ...
by Dahnya Jones
UHCLIDIAN Staff

Houston traffic has always caused headaches for motorists. Amid construction of the Dixie Farm Road bridge and up-coming closures of the El Dorado and Nasa Road 1 bridges, travel is about to get worse.

The bridge at Dixie Farm Road over Interstate 45 is already under construction and both northbound and southbound feeder lanes have been closed as of March 11. Travelers taking the I-45 feeder roads are being re-routed right before they reach the bridge. Construction of the new bridge is to widen the flow of traffic by adding another bridge on the westbound side consisting of two lanes and is scheduled for completion by May 11, 2002.

Two new projects are also scheduled to take place in an effort to decongest much of the Friendswood, League City, Webster and Clear Lake traffic. The first project is a plan to replace the eastbound bridge crossing I-45 at Nasa Road 1.

"A new bridge is being built because the existing bridge has been hit so much," said Norm Witington, public information officer for the city of Houston.

The old bridge, damaged by large trucks and other vehicles unable to pass under the existing 15-foot clearance, is being replaced by a new federally-mandated 16-foot, 6 inch bridge. Crews have already begun to set out traffic barrels in an attempt to merge the two lanes into one on the eastbound side. Nothing has noticeably been done to the bridge at this point and the traffic is already beginning to thicken.

The official closing of the bridge is tentatively scheduled for April 4 at 10 p.m. During construction, the westbound lane is to stay open with only one lane going each direction. Major delays are expected in addition to the existing congestion.

"Motorists will be able to follow signs re-routing them to FM 518, Texas 3, the east side of Nasa Road 1, and the west side [FM 528]," said James Johnson, also a public information officer for the city of Houston. "Law enforcement officials are anticipated to monitor the area, and the contractor, Williams Brothers Construction, should have flagmen present."

The highway department will also construct a second bridge at El Dorado, accommodating the heavier traffic due to the new Wal-Mart and surrounding shopping centers built late last year. The new bridge will be constructed to carry the eastbound lanes. The existing bridge will remain in its single-lane pattern and will be converted into two westbound lanes. When the project is completed, the new bridge should alleviate congestion by providing an additional lane both eastbound and westbound.

Construction of the new bridge is tentatively scheduled to begin in the summer and is anticipated to be completed in November 2002.

Both bridges are major arteries for traffic flow, and residents in the bridges' surrounding areas are in for additional, heavier traffic than they are currently experiencing. As soon as the construction is complete, traffic congestion is expected to subside by providing the additional structures and lanes designed to spread out the flow of traffic.