The Fred Hartman Bridge is a
cable-stayed bridge in the U.S. state of
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
spanning the
Houston Ship Channel. The bridge carries of
State Highway 146 (SH 146), between the cities of
Baytown and
La Porte (east of
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
). The bridge is also expected to carry
SH 99 (Grand Parkway) when it is completed around Houston.
The bridge, named for Fred Hartman (1908–1991), the editor and publisher of the ''
Baytown Sun'' from 1950 to 1974, is the longest cable-stayed bridge in Texas and one of only four such bridges in the state, the others being
Veterans Memorial Bridge in
Orange County,
Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, and
Bluff Dale Suspension Bridge in
Erath County. It is the 77th-largest bridge in the world. The construction cost of the bridge was $91.25 million (equivalent to $ in ).
The bridge replaced the
Baytown Tunnel (of depth clearance ).
[ The tunnel had to be removed when the Houston Ship Channel was deepened to , with a minimum bottom width, to accommodate larger ships. The last section of the Baytown Tunnel was removed from the Houston Ship Channel on September 14, 1999, with removal of the tunnel being the responsibility of the ]Texas Department of Transportation
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) is a Texas state government agency responsible for construction and maintenance of the state's immense Texas state highway system, state highway system and the support of the state's maritime trans ...
(TxDOT).
Construction
In October 1985, the Texas Highway Department announced the project and estimated it would take two years to complete. The bridge was designed by Greiner Engineering, Inc., which was acquired by URS Corporation in 1995, which in turn was acquired by AECOM
AECOM (, ; formerly AECOM Technology Corporation; stylised A''Ξ''COM) is an American multinational infrastructure consulting firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
The company's official name from 1990–2015 was AECOM Technology Corporation, ...
in October 2014.South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
n company, which caused complaints because of the country's apartheid
Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
policies. After the completion date was pushed back several times, a letter was sent to the TxDOT's executive director, William Burnett, from the city of Baytown via the ''Baytown Sun'' in early 1995, which helped spur interest in finishing the project. Finally, on September 27, 1995, the Fred Hartman Bridge had its grand opening ceremony, which was hosted by Baytown and La Porte chambers of commerce. Notable guests include George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
, Miss Texas 1995, William Burnett, and the Hartman family. Fred Hartman died in 1991 and did not live to see his dream come to fruition.
See also
*
References
External links
*
{{Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown MSA
Cable-stayed bridges in the United States
Bridges completed in 1995
Crossings of the Houston Ship Channel
Towers in Texas
Greater Houston
Galveston Bay Area
Transportation buildings and structures in Harris County, Texas
Road bridges in Texas
Steel bridges in the United States
Concrete bridges in the United States