May 28, 1971:
On this day, the Houston Chronicle revealed a rendering of what was to be the nation’s longest strutted-girder or “V” style bridge spanning the Houston Ship Channel at 1,230 feet.
The width of the 19 million dollar Sidney Sherman bridge was, and still is, impressive. It can accommodate ten lanes of traffic. However, before construction began, officials at the Port of Houston were highly doubtful that the 135-foot high clearance would be tall enough for ships to safely pass. The Texas Department of Transportation assured the officials it would work, and besides, it would have cost another 10 million dollars to construct a bridge with a 20-foot higher clearance.
Since the superstructure’s opening in March of 1973, several ships have minorly collided with the bridge. In December of 2000, the crane of a cargo ship struck the northbound side, ripping a large hole in the deck. Fortunately, no cars fell through and five months later another cargo boom hit the bridge, tearing another hole and damaging the supporting beams underneath. Officials closed four of the five northbound lanes for six weeks, and the cost to repair the bridge was $1,250,000.
Should they have spent the extra $10 million to make the bridge higher in ’71? Tell us in the comments below, or tweet our host, Michael Callahan, @MCallahanTV using #ForgottenDayHOU, and he’ll tweet you back!