The Sidney Sherman Bridge is a strutted

girder bridge A girder bridge is a bridge that uses girders as the means of supporting its deck. The two most common types of modern steel girder bridges are plate and box. The term "girder" is often used interchangeably with "beam" in reference to bridge d ...

Houston, Texas 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 ...

. It spans the

Houston Ship Channel The Houston Ship Channel, in Houston, Texas, is part of the Port of Houston, one of the busiest seaports in the world. The channel (geography), channel is the conduit for ocean-going vessels between Houston-area terminals and the Gulf of Mexico, ...

(

Buffalo Bayou Buffalo Bayou is a slow-moving river which flows through Houston in Harris County, Texas. Formed 18,000 years ago, it has its source in the prairie surrounding Katy, Texas, Katy, Fort Bend County, Texas, Fort Bend County, and flows approximately ...

) and carries the East Loop segment of Interstate 610 on the east side of the city. It is more popularly known as the 610 Bridge or Ship Channel Bridge.

History

Construction on the bridge was on the planning boards by 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)as far back as 1962. Originally planned with a mainspan, it was rejected by the Army Corps of Engineers for fear that the narrow main span was a hazard to ships on the Ship Channel. So, a main span was in the plans, instead, and the Army Corps approved of the design. Construction on the bridge started in 1969, and it was opened to traffic on March 2, 1973 (along with the East Loop of I-610). Just a year before, the

National Society of Professional Engineers The National Society of Professional Engineers (abbreviate as NSPE) is a professional association representing licensed professional engineers in the United States. NSPE is the recognized voice and advocate of licensed Professional Engineers repr ...

named the new bridge one of the top-10 outstanding engineering achievements in the nation. In 1974, it was renamed the Sidney Sherman Bridge after

Sidney Sherman Sidney Sherman (July 23, 1805 – August 1, 1873) was a Texian general and a key leader in the Texas Army during the Texas Revolution and afterwards. Early life Sherman was born in Marlboro, Massachusetts, a son of Michah and Susanna Dennis ...

, who led the

Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...

and took part in making the Houston Ship Channel good for navigation.

Controversy

The bridge clearance is , which some officials have deemed too low for ships to navigate. By the time the V-struts supporting the mainspan were put in place, the

Port of Houston The Port of Houston is one of the world's largest ports and serves the metropolitan area of Houston, Houston, Texas. The port is a complex of diversified public and private facilities located a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico. Loc ...

claimed the struts were an even more dangerous hazard to ships that must veer from the middle of the waterway. By some accounts, port officials protested, but TxDoT did not listen to their pleas. The bridge cost TxDoT $19 million in its current configuration; a higher clearance would have cost more, and the agency went on to investigate that ships did not need . This decision proved to be a mistake. Several ships have collided with the bridge over 27 years, but despite this, the bridge only suffered minor damage and was still intact. That all changed in December 2000, when a cargo crane struck the bridge, knocking a hole in the concrete deck and damaging a steel beam. The damage took six weeks to repair, forcing several lanes to be closed in the process. The worst accident, though, happened in May 2001, when a freighter's cargo boom caused severe damage to a girder and put another gaping hole in the span. Several lanes of the bridge were closed for two months while repairs were completed.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Crossings of the Houston Ship Channel Transportation buildings and structures in Houston Bridges completed in 1973 Road bridges in Texas Steel bridges in the United States Girder bridges in the United States