HOUSTON | Beltway 8/Houston Ship Channel Replacement Bridge | 515 FT

[Wattleigh]

http://www.traylor.com/nhcd-project-win-houston-ship-channel-bridge/

National Heavy Civil Division Wins Houston Ship Channel Bridge Project
Posted on September 28, 2017

On Tuesday, September 26th, the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) took the first steps toward awarding Ship Channel Constructors (SCC), a joint venture between Traylor Bros., Inc. and Zachry Construction Corporation, a contract for construction of the Sam Houston Tollway Ship Channel Bridge Replacement. The joint venture will build two new landmark cable-stayed bridges across the channel, providing four toll lanes and full shoulders in each direction, while maintaining traffic on the busy water- and roadways along the alignment. Critical to the team’s selection was our extensive cable-stayed bridge building experience, proven ability to work effectively in the water, and resources coming available from both joint venture partners just in time to transition smoothly to this project. Negotiations over final contract language will begin in the next few weeks, after which point we will receive formal award. NTP is scheduled for late this year with project completion in December of 2023.

The contract awarded to the group for the bridge alone was about $568M, below the estimated $612M projected by the Harris County Toll Road Authority. Figure is as of 1/11/18 per HCTRA.

Height is based on 2016 FAA documents

https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/sea...=displayOECase&oeCaseID=308976121&row=12

https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/sea...=displayOECase&oeCaseID=308976770&row=13

The new bridge will replace this one, built in 1982. Image c/o KTRK ABC 13.

The existing span is notorious locally for it's high incline, narrowness and lack of proper shoulders. Per the linked article, daily traffic had increased 40% between 2013 & 2016, leading to increased congestion. Expansion is also favorable due to increased shipping traffic in the Port of Houston, especially as the Port Commission approves additional infrastructure to serve modern Post-Panamax sized ships.

[Prezrezc]

I just stumbled on this...

...Best. Cable-stayed. Design. Ever.

[The Best Forumer]

This is nice...

[The Best Forumer]

now I wonder when they will do the same for the 610 ship channel bridge.

[Wattleigh]

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news...ion-project-to-replace-houston-ship.html

$1B construction project to replace Houston Ship Channel Bridge starts



By Jen Para – Web producer, Houston Business Journal
Jun 1, 2018, 2:08pm CDT Updated Jun 1, 2018, 4:40pm CDT

Expect some construction work for the next six years or so on the bridge over the Houston Ship Channel.

The Harris County Toll Road Authority has begun a $962 million project to replace the bridge across the ship channel on the Sam Houston Tollway from Texas State Highway 225 to Interstate 10 to handle growing traffic, a spokesperson with HCTRA confirmed and added that notice to proceed was issued on March 19. Currently, the bridge carries about 55,000 cars per day, but that number is expected to grow to almost 158,000 vehicles per day by 2035, according to a Roads & Bridges article about the project co-authored by the HCTRA.

When complete in 2024, Houston Ship Channel Bridge will have two bridges with four lanes of traffic each plus shoulders, per the Roads & Bridges article and Houston Public Media. The current single bridge has only two lanes of traffic in each direction with no shoulder.

There are no plans to close the bridge during construction — the 4-mile-long program corridor will be completed in three phases to maintain all four existing lanes of traffic, per the reports. The first phase includes building a new southbound bridge. When it’s complete in 2021, traffic will then be directed on the new bridge, while construction crews demolish the current bridge and rebuild it to carry northbound traffic.

[R1070]

Isn't there already a bridge in that area that looks almost the same?

[N90]

Originally Posted by R1070

Isn't there already a bridge in that area that looks almost the same?

The Fred Hartman Bridge in Baytown on Houston's east side.

https://wbctx.com/our-projects/fred-hartman-bridge/

This new bridge is an even bigger beast than Fred Hartman is though. A whole lot bigger beast.

[The Best Forumer]

I wonder if it will light up at night.

[Rail Claimore]

I think the additional height over the Fred Hartman Bridge comes from the "forks" on the top. Structurally speaking, the roadway and the height should feel about the same.

[Wattleigh]

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/ho...ship-channel-bridge-tollway-18642180.php

Ship Channel Bridge nears milestone as work continues on tollway's southbound span

By Dug Begley,
Staff writer
Feb 14, 2024

To some drivers, the notion that Harris County was working on a new Sam Houston Tollway bridge across the ship channel might have once seemed like a tall tale.

Now it is a tall pillar of concrete and steel — where workers trudge up and down 15 flights of stairs and counting. It will eventually tower over the ship channel as the priciest piece of road ever for the Harris County Toll Road Authority.

Almost two years from completion, the first phase of the Houston Ship Channel span is becoming more noticeable to drivers on the existing bridge. Even more work will become obvious over the summer, but not without another thing tollway drivers are used to seeing: lane closures.

Still, any sight of a new span is closely watched by commuters and elected officials, including Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia.

“It really is top of mind for some folks,” Garcia said. “Folks are really anxious for a better bridge.”

For construction purposes, the new bridge is actually two bridges, practically inches apart, each carrying one direction of travel. Crews are building the southbound bridge first. When it is complete, all traffic on the existing bridge will move to it, two lanes in each direction, so the old bridge can be demolished and the northbound new span built in its place.

The southbound span — where the new approach lanes have been sitting for more than three years — is scheduled to open by the end of 2025. The demolition of the existing bridge and construction of the second massive span will take until 2028, officials said.

Crews continue work on the new Ship Channel Bridge along the Sam Houston Tollway on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. Work on the first two of four pillars that will support the new span has risen to the point it is almost even with the existing bridge.

Kirk Sides/Staff photographer

Crews continue work on the new Ship Channel Bridge along the Sam Houston Tollway on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. Work on the first two of four pillars that will support the new span has risen to the point it is almost even with the existing bridge.

Kirk Sides/Staff photographer

Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia, right, listens as construction personnel give an update on construction at the Houston Ship Channel bridge on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.

Kirk Sides/Staff photographer

A warning sign indicates the presence of construction personnel as construction progresses on the Houston Ship Channel bridge on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.

Kirk Sides/Staff photographer

Construction progresses on the Houston Ship Channel bridge on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.

Kirk Sides/Staff photographer

Construction progresses on the Houston Ship Channel bridge on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.

Kirk Sides/Staff photographer

[Busy Bee]

Impressive.

Also thrilled they resisted the temptation to put a lone star somewhere on it.

[Wattleigh]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

Impressive.

Also thrilled they resisted the temptation to put a lone star somewhere on it.

Given that it's a HCTRA / Harris County project, somehow I'd doubt something like that would be anywhere in the design. Can't think of any of the roads that they manage having a design element like that.

Other surrounding agencies or the state... that's a different story.

[Wattleigh]

Progress from yesterday c/o MaxConcrete on HAIF

[Wattleigh]

1/23/2026 - c/o Max Concrete on HAIF





The bridge now has a name.

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/ship-channel-bridge-richard-tapia-22085843.php

Houston's $1.3B Ship Channel Bridge is now getting a new name
Harris County commissioners voting unanimously on Thursday to give it an identity.

By Ahmed Humble,
Senior Trending Reporter
March 19, 2026

Houston's Ship Channel Bridge, currently in the first phase of a billion-dollar construction project, is set to undergo another major change: its name.

During Thursday's meeting, Harris County Commissioners voted unanimously to approve a resolution to rename the bridge after Dr. Richard Tapia, the Maxfield-Oshman Chair in Engineering at Rice University. Tapia also serves as faculty director of the Tapia Center, a Rice-based summer program that helps students in grades 8 through 12 prepare for careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

While the renaming may seem esoteric, commissioners emphasized its broader significance for representation in engineering and STEM fields.

The Ship Channel Bridge is currently budgeted at $1.3 billion, according to the Harris County Toll Road Authority, and construction for the main bridge first began in March 2018, but is slated to be completed in 2028.

Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia, who presented the request, highlighted Tapia's legacy as both an educator and mentor, urging colleagues to support the measure as a way to inspire future generations of engineers.

"There is no more fitting name for this major structure than a titan of engineering, math and science," Garcia said as he presented the item."Dr. Tapia has made an extraordinary impact, not just on his field of study, but on generations of future scientists, mathematicians and engineers, especially for the Hispanic community."

A UCLA graduate, Dr. Tapia has authored more than 100 research papers, and received several national accolades including the including the National Medal of Science from President Barack Obama. He also made history as the first Hispanic person elected to the National Academy of Engineering. He was present for Thursday's vote and reflected on his decades-long career and personal background in remarks before the court.

"I've been at Rice for over 50 years, 55 years, " he said. "I'm a mathematician and I've tried very hard to be as good a mathematician as I could be but I never forgot who I was. My mother and father are so proud of being Mexican, but they're also extremely proud of being American."