Houston Chronicle by Dug Begley Jan. 7, 2020
The Harris County Toll Road Authority plans to take a three-week pause in construction on the new Houston Ship Channel Bridge along the Sam Houston Tollway so engineers can agree on a solution to a possible design flaw found nearly 20 months into the project.
The $1 billion bridge — the costliest infrastructure project in the county’s history — was designed by the Dallas office of FIGG Bridge Group. The company, based in Florida, came under scrutiny when its Tallahassee office designed a pedestrian bridge that collapsed in February 2018 at Florida International University, killing six. FIGG and its consultants were held responsible for the collapse.
“Errors in bridge design, inadequate peer review and poor engineering judgment led to the collapse of this bridge,†National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt said three months ago when findings were released.
Weeks after the collapse, HCTRA officials said they were sticking with FIGG as designers of the new Ship Channel Bridge. Still, last March, Harris County approved a $2.6 million contract with COWI, an international consulting and engineering firm, to review the FIGG designs.
The Ship Channel Bridge delay affects only the construction of the two massive pylons that support the bridge as it spans the channel, Tyler said. All construction related to the approaches and widening of the tollway on both sides of the bridge will continue unaffected, he said.
The potential flaw involves the load capabilities of the pylon design, and whether a specific part of the tower adheres to best engineering practices as the curved part of the pylon rises. Tyler said the point in question is about 60 feet in the air, well below the roadway where vehicles will cross the busy Ship Channel.
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https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/transportation/article/Harris-County-to-halt-Ship-Channel-Bridge-14954369.php
