The Texas Department of Transportation says this morning crews will begin repairs on the Rio Hondo lift bridge that was damaged last Friday and halted maritime traffic.
TxDOT says it awarded Gibson and Associates of Balch Springs, Texas, the contract to repair the dent I-beam with a bid of $111,000.
The bridge will be closed to all traffic at 7:30 a.m. and that is when crew will begin the process of heating the column that was damaged when it was struck by a bus Friday evening.
“The work entails heating the column that was damaged and straightening it back into place,” said TxDOT Public Information Officer Octavio Saenz in an email.
Saenz says the repairs are estimated to last five days and during the time the mechanical lift bridge will be unavailable to vehicular traffic.
Since the accident, barges and tugboats have been unable to go to and from the Port of Harlingen via the Arroyo Colorado because the center span of the bridge can’t be lifted.
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