Construction on Ship Channel Bridge halted due to design flaw

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Harris County Toll Road Authority will temporarily halt construction on a portion of the nearly $1 billion project project to rebuild the Beltway Ship Channel Bridge.

HCTRA hired an independent consultant, COWI North America Inc., to review the engineering design of the bridge. The consultant company has already identified one design issue related to the pylon legs.

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The halt in construction will allow FIGG Bridge Engineers, Inc. to design a solution. HCTRA says that solution will be approved by COWI North America Inc.

The agency believes the process should take about three weeks, at which point construction could resume. The overall review of the engineering design should be finished in March.

Rebuilding and replacing the bridge is expected to be a six year project. It’s set to complete in 2024.