RIO HONDO — Nearly 13 months after work on its mechanical lift bridge began and cut this town in two, TxDOT engineers say the iconic span will re-open to traffic in December.
Working mechanical lift bridges are rare, and this bridge that opened in 1953 was due for a rehabilitation that will cost $12.4 million. The bridge, when operational, lifts several hundred times a year to allow barge traffic access to the Port of Harlingen which lies upstream on the Arroyo Colorado.
The bridge here was grit-blasted and stripped of its old yellow paint, and a primer, mid-coat and a final coat are planned. Some parts for the bridge had to be manufactured since they no longer were available.
“There was nothing surprising since the details of what was to be expected were listed on the contract,” said TxDOT spokesman Octavio Saenz. “The only thing may have been a delay of a few days for some parts that came from the Houston and the Florida area — nothing of consequence.
“It is the only working lift bridge in the entire State of Texas,” Saenz added.
Project engineer Sergio Sustaita of TxDOT told the Harlingen-San Benito Metropolitan Planning Organization last week that while traffic will flow over the bridge in December, the full rehabilitation work would last until February.
The bridge was closed to traffic in late September 2016 and has remained shut down for almost 400 days. TxDOT officials had projected the rehab would be finished in about a year.
The bridge wasn’t the only construction project progressing in Rio Hondo last week. Along Colorado Avenue, which turns into FM 106 or General Brant Road outside town, crews were busy adding sidewalks to both sides of the street.
TxDOT and the city have designated $400,000 for the sidewalk and eventual landscaping of the area, and the work is continuing from the bridge down to Robertson Road.
City officials plan to reconstruct parts of downtown area streets with brick pavers, and they hope to add benches and new LED lighting as well.
TxDOT Projects Update
Rehabilitation Rio Hondo lift bridge
Location: Rio Hondo
Cost: $12.4 million
Project length: 0.117 miles
Contractor: PCL Civil Contractors Inc.
Work started: Summer 2016
Completion date: February 2018
Work finished: 76.53 percent
The project consists of a complete overhaul of the mechanical lift bridge over the Arroyo Colorado.
FM 106 roadway reconstruction
Location: From FM 1847 to FM 510
Cost: $15.6 million
Project Length: 11.4 miles
Contractor: Texas SAI Inc.
Work started: November 2015
Completion date: February 2018
Work finished: 65.77 percent complete
The project consists of a major overhaul of the roadway and includes several wildlife underpasses and adjacent fencing.
