KINGSLAND — During the flood event that swept through the Hill Country mid-October the FM 2900 bridge in Kingsland collapsed, leaving residents in the area with longer commutes.
The Texas Department of Transportation held a press conference Friday morning about the plans to rebuild the bridge.
TxDOT Austin District Engineer Terry McCoy stated, "The new bridge is expected to cost about 15-million dollars and this includes incentive to the contractor to complete the job as quickly as possible."
McCoy said if all goes well the new bridge should be completed by next April and will be built a bit differently from the last bridge.
According to McCoy, the old bridge was a straight bridge, but the new bridge will be a perch bridge, built higher in the middle than at the ends.
"At it's peak it will be about 5 foot higher than the old structure. We are also going to make the new bridge wider." stated McCoy. "We are not just replacing the old bridge, we are building one higher and wider than what was there before."
TxDOT stated the bridge will be widened to include 12-foot travel lanes, six-foot shoulders and a six-foot sidewalk.
According to McCoy, before construction can begin, crews will work to remove debris from the old bridge.
McCoy said before collapsing, the FM 2900 bridge carried about 5,600 vehicles per day.
TxDOT stated while the bridge is under construction, drivers can use RM 1431 to access Kingsland
You can watch the press conference from earlier today, here.
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