The southbound Texan Trail bridge over Highway 114 in Grapevine was scheduled to reopen late Friday afternoon after being closed due to damage last week, according to a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Transportation.
The bridge was damaged on January 20 after a semi truck bearing an oversize load scraped the bottom of the bridge and its northbound twin.Girders on both bridges were affected when the truck, carrying an excavator equipped with a large boom, gouged the bridges.The truck and its load topped 16 feet, 3 inches in height while the bridges' clearance was 14 feet, 7 inches.The northbound Texan Trail bridge will not reopen. It was already scheduled for demolition beginning Feb. 3 as part of road construction along the DFW Connector Project.The southbound bridge will now carry one lane in each direction. It is scheduled to be in service for three to six more months until it, too, will be demolished for the connector project."They're still working on repairs on damaged girders but they've shifted traffic to areas of the bridge that were not damaged," said Tony Hartzel with the Texas Department of Transportation. "The girders will be repaired and reinforced, and that will open up at least one more lane on that bridge."Drivers shouldn't become too comfortable with the bridge reopening, because more highway headaches will follow next weekend."The main thing for people to remember is they're going to be demolishing that northbound bridge next weekend, so there will be a full closure of 114 starting Friday night and going through Sunday into early Monday morning, Feb. 6," Hartzel said.The bridge will reopen by 6 a.m. on Feb. 6, in time for rush hour, Hartzel said.Shirley Jinkins, 817-390-7657Twitter: @startelegramHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
