TxDOT says plans for bridge replacement accelerated, but interim might mean traffic...
Getting heavy equipment off Galveston Island is going to be a big problem for a few months, after damage to a key Interstate 45 bridge led highway officials to ban overweight trucks.
Correcting the issue could make travel to and from the island complicated for everyone in the coming months. Thursday, after an inspection discovered “several damaged beams,” according to the Texas Department of Transportation, officials closed northbound I-45 north of Tiki Island to vehicles with a gross weight above 80,000 pounds.
Officials stressed the prohibition applies only to overweight vehicles; the typical 18-wheeler and all passenger vehicles are fine. Closing the span — just north of Galveston Island where the freeway tops a railroad track then descends to the boggy mainland — essentially cuts off heavy cargo from the island. No other road is part of the national or state freight network.