Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
[Narrator] Bridging past and present. Connecting Texas
communities. Spanning the distance between nations. Texas bridges connect.
[Music]
[Narrator]
Remarkably, some of our earliest bridges are still in service.
The Regency Suspension Bridge, built in 1939. The Washington Avenue Bridge, built in 1902.
The Rio Hondo Lift bridge, built in 1953; the last lift bridge in Texas.
Yet others have begun second lives of service as trails and pathways for Texas communities,
their fundamental purpose of providing passage unaffected by a new setting.
Craftsmen built these early structures, sometimes by hand, but always with skill and artistry.
Craftsmen still design and build the bridges we use today. They are uniquely diverse, like
the imaginative men and women who create them. But we also care for our bridges, tend them,
and assure their safety for Texans. That is our TxDOT legacy; that is our challenge.
Over 53,000 bridges, that’s more than any other state. But then again, our bridges are
the safest in the nation. Keeping our Texas bridges safe for the traveling public is our
top priority, and it all begins with design. [Crash Test Screech]
Designing bridge rails to be specific. Partnering with researchers at TTI, TxDOT
engineers have recently developed and tested a safer, stronger, and more economical bridge
rail. Replacing the current Texas Classic Rail is the culmination of years of research
and study. This bridge rail will save money, ease installation, and more importantly, save
lives. As a national leader in transportation research,
our investigations and research studies affect transportation and engineering nationally
and internationally. TxDOT's creation, testing, and pioneering
use of new materials and structures are changing the future of design and construction.
[Gregg Freeby] There are technologies that we use here that
were developed here, that are almost unique to us. The best example would be our precast
concrete panels. It's a way to build bridge decks.....developed here in Texas deployed
in the 1980s, used on probably 90 percent of what we build. It’s a very effective
way to build bridges in a rapid manner and in an economical way.
[Narrator] Our high quality, low cost bridges are the
best in the nation, and our safety record proves it!
[Man speaking]
[Narrator] The importance of bridges, especially to the
communities they connect, cannot be understated. People feel a sense of ownership, a sense
of pride in a bridge that serves their community. One way to express that civic pride is through
bridge aesthetics.
[Music]
[Narrator] TxDOT designers incorporate bridge aesthetics,
images that represent that sense of pride and reflect the community and surrounding
areas, into their bridge design. Public meetings allow citizens a chance to view the project,
voice opinions, and offer ideas. The images are popular, economical additions that signify
community pride.
[Music]
[John Holt] We welcome that involvement and we love to
sit down with them and listen to what their ideas are for how they want their bridge to
appear. It is a good back and forth dialogue. As engineers, we share their enthusiasm for
their bridge; because we love bridges, too. It ends up being a win-win situation.
[Narrator] And if you really love bridges, you will love
the tools our designers use to illustrate them. With 3-D animations and visualizations,
TxDOT designers generate realistic looking models that accurately depict the final design.
[Music]
[Sound of bats flying]
[Narrator] As stewards of the environment, TxDOT was
one of the first Department of Transportation in the nation to begin designing and retrofitting
bridges to accommodate roosting bats. As more natural roosts disappear, and are
lost to urbanization, the importance of artificial habitats increases. Construction features
which benefit and attract bats can be designed with the bridge to provide valuable habitat,
very cost effectively. Bridge designers working collaboratively with
biologists in the Environmental Affairs Division explore solutions to make bridges more welcoming
to bats. Interestingly enough, bats in general do not
care for our older, steel truss type bridges as roosts. They prefer concrete.
Our historic bridges however, tell the story of Texas, and we strive to preserve them.
In the mid 1990s, TxDOT intensified efforts to preserve historic bridges. Because of that
strategy, TxDOT has, during the past decade, restored and extended the life of many of
the best examples of historic bridges in the State.
Working cooperatively...with bats or bulldozers to create innovative bridges, is our specialty.
[Music]
[Narrator] The worlds first pre-cast network arch bridge,
the West 7th Street bridge,is just such a collaborative effort. The Texas Department
of Transportation, with our private sector partners, worked together to design and create
a signature structure, a gateway bridge, that connects the Cultural District with Downtown.
The two-year project is quickly nearing completion and will provide safer, improved mobility
for cyclists and pedestrians, as well as motorists. The new, Sylvan Avenue Bridge in Dallas is
an elevated, 6-lane roadway, with sidewalks on either shoulder.
The new bridge will elevate the roadway above the flood plain. Motorists will now be able
to use the bridge without the threat of floodwaters closing the road.
These 150 foot, 240 ton beams allow for longer spans between columns. Fewer columns in the
flood plain means less debris hitting and clinging to those columns during flooding.
[Shane Harp] It makes it interesting to come to work every
morning knowing you are doing something different, something that someone has never done before.
And It is something new we get to learn.
[Narrator] Learning played a huge role in the construction
of the Klyde Warren Park in Dallas. After all, it is the first deck park in Texas, and
is a park built on a bridge, over a road. Blending design and functionality, TxDOT is
changing minds about what makes a bridge, a bridge.
The Klyde Warren Park in Dallas is an impressive example of partnering within the community.
The deck park is actually built on top of Spur 366. The City of Dallas, The Department
of Transportation, and the Woodall Rogers Park Foundation combined forces to build the
deck park. The Park was completed in the fall of 2012,
to the delight of the citizens of Dallas. Connecting downtown and uptown, the five acre
Park provides space for group activities, music, and entertainment. But best of all
there is plenty of room to just play!
[Brahama Singh] Nobody wants to be stuck in traffic, but hey,everybody
would love to go to a park! It is just so peaceful and it is great for everyone to come
out and have fun and enjoy themselves, and they do not know they are on a bridge!
[Narrator] But TxDOT inspectors know they are on a bridge.
The Klyde Warren Park is inspected at least every 24 months, just like our other bridges.
Our inspection program is rigorous and thorough; our inspectors skilled and knowledgeable.
Projects under construction are inspected every step of the way.
Structural steel inspector Wade Voges says having bridge specialists just makes sense.
[Wade Voges] For starters, Texas has more bridges than
any other state, by twice the number. That means we have to be more skilled, more professional,
more intense. I think we do a better job than any other state. Just because we have a very
good, well-rounded bridge division with good inspectors in it and good engineers.
[Narrator] Dedicated, experienced inspectors. They are
a source of pride within the Bridge Division, and a valuable resource for TxDOT.
[Traffic]
[Narrator] Recent heightened awareness of bridge safety
is quickly forgotten by drivers on I35 this evening. But in the Waco District, bridge
inspector Stan Ybarra knows just how important his job is.
[Stan Ybarra] We’re talking about lives here. You might
have your family drive over this bridge, one of these days, you know.
[Narrator] But bridge inspections don’t just happen
at deck level, or on dry land, or even during the daytime.
Starting at 5 a.m. to avoid the brutal summer heat, inspectors on the Pennybacker bridge
in Austin scale the structure from the inside, searching for potential problems. Specialized
equipment like our Snooper trucks allows more access and flexibility, placing workers where
they need to be.
[Splash]
Underwater inspections play an important role in our bridge maintenance and management program.
When bridge elements are continuously submerged or submerged during periods of significant
flow, TxDOT divers use underwater inspection techniques and management procedures to establish
their condition.
Underwater material damage, deterioration, and scour-related undermining may not be apparent
above water until the damage has become so severe that remedial actions are extremely
expensive. Early detection of underwater distress allows implementation of cost-effective repairs.
As with all TxDOT inspectors, the work at hand is serious and intense. The safety of
the traveling public is at stake.
Bridge inspection is a continuous process on a two-year cycle. Inspection yields a bridge
rating which gives a snapshot view of the condition of the bridge.
Helping communities improve the condition of their bridges is the goal of the federal
Highway Bridge Program. Created in 1978, the Programs purpose is to increase the safety
of highway bridges nationwide. The Highway Bridge Program offers funding
for preventive maintenance, rehabilitation, or replacement of both on and off system bridges.
Bridge inspections play a crucial role in the eligibility process.
[James Pohl] We have got a lot of spalling and delamination
underneath the bridge and continuing underneath the deck.
[Narrator] James Pohl inspects bridges in all 11 counties
of the Yoakum District, teaming up with County Commissioners to complete the eligibility
requirements and help guide community leaders through the funding process. Working cooperatively
towards a common goal has greatly improved bridge safety in the Yoakum District.
[Music]
[Narration] Even safe bridges have a life span. But even
when a bridge has reached the end of its useful life as a roadway, it still has potential.
Pedestrian walkways fulfill that potential, and provide yet another avenue to preserve
our transportation history. Reusing bridges, re-creating them as walkways
and trails extends their use; saving money while preserving engineering history along
the way. Sometimes, recycling is the answer to the
question, what now? Beams from bridge demolition projects create
artificial reefs that become critical habitat for reef dwelling marine life attracted to
underwater structures. This new concentration of marine life in turn attracts scuba divers
and fishermen. Concrete is an excellent reef material because it lasts longer than metal
ships and rigs, which start to rust and crumble after 50 years.
At some point, however, a bridge must be taken down. It is an explosive situation.
[Explosion]
The US 281 bridge over Lake Marble Falls was demolished on March 17, 2013.
After 80 years of service, the bridge was part of the community; the gateway to Marble
Falls. But as the area developed and grew, the old bridge became inadequate and the need
for a new bridge emerged. Steel from the bridge implosion was transformed
into art. It was distributed to civic groups and the Marble Falls Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber commissioned a sculpture to be built with the steel recovered from the lake
bed. Father Jairo Lopez, a local priest and prominent
mosaic sculptor, accepted the commission. The unveiling ceremony was held in August
in front of the new Visitors Center, just a stones throw from the new bridge.
[Music]
TxDOT craftsmen will continue to build safe, innovative bridges for Texans. The lure of
bridge building is strong. The need to connect vital.
The extraordinary elegance of the Hartman Bridge.
The soaring spans of the Rainbow Bridge. The simple efficiency of the Piano Bridge.
Our Texas bridges. Created with inspiration, designed with vision,
constructed to serve. Texas bridges connect us.