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Oscar Colquitt Bridge On Yale St.


IronTiger

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It's open. You can drive the entire length of Yale from near 45 North to where it turns into Waugh. It's actually a pretty cool drive. There's the site prep for the new Booker T Washington high school, the future site of the 365 market, sites in the Heights due for redevelopment, etc.

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I haven't seen any signage posted yet indicating an imminent closure, so I'd say it's safe to assume that it will still be open on Thursday. IIRC, they were going to start the rebuilding project sometime in February.

Where did you see a Feb start? I had only seen references to EOY. They did recently do some utility pole work that removed an old structure close to the bridge. I live very close and will be considerably impacted by the closure.

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Where did you see a Feb start? I had only seen references to EOY. They did recently do some utility pole work that removed an old structure close to the bridge. I live very close and will be considerably impacted by the closure.

 

This piece from the Chron was written at the end of September, and says "within the next six months":

 

http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/heights/news/article/Yale-Street-bridge-awaits-destruction-6540318.php

 

Traffic is already bad during rush hour on Yale near I-10 in both directions, so I imagine it's really going to suck once the construction starts and Yale isn't an option for through traffic for the duration of the project. 

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  • 2 months later...

The thing that amazes me is that apparently this bridge will be closed for 18 months.  We can all thank the WalMart NIMBY's who scrutinized this in their effort to stop Walmart for the new, presumably safer bridge we get, but we can also thank them for the cluster this is about to become.  In their glee, when they found out that this bridge wouldnt handle WalMart's trucks, they got it named a historic bridge, in an attempt to make it so WalMart could never replace it. However, all it really means, is that now instead of being eligible for state/federal money to replace, the city has to pay all of the costs and we get a nice fat year and half timeline for a simple bridge replacement.

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31 minutes ago, JJxvi said:

The thing that amazes me is that apparently this bridge will be closed for 18 months.  We can all thank the WalMart NIMBY's who scrutinized this in their effort to stop Walmart for the new, presumably safer bridge we get, but we can also thank them for the cluster this is about to become.  In their glee, when they found out that this bridge wouldnt handle WalMart's trucks, they got it named a historic bridge, in an attempt to make it so WalMart could never replace it. However, all it really means, is that now instead of being eligible for state/federal money to replace, the city has to pay all of the costs and we get a nice fat year and half timeline for a simple bridge replacement.

From the chron article:

"The federal Highway Bridge Program will cover 80 percent of the costs; the state will pay the remaining 20 percent."

Last I checked, 80 + 20=100, meaning the City of Houston pays nothing to replace the bridge.  The stuff about the bridge being ineligible for funding due to historic some historic designation is pure fiction.

But you are right that we should thank the anti-Walmart campaign.  They found out that the bridge was not structurally sound and worked hard to get plans in place to replace the bridge.  TxDOT and that City were completely asleep at the wheel as far as keeping track of the bridge's condition and planning for needed repairs and eventual replacement, despite TxDOT knowing that the bridge would see greatly increased traffic with the feeder road expansion and the City knowing that Walmart and the other development in the area would mean increase semitrailer traffic.  But for the civic activism, the issue of the bridge would not have come to light for years and then only when it became an emergency situation due to continual over load use.  Instead of keeping the bridge open with temporary repairs while planning for replacement, the bridge could have been subject to an emergency shutdown and taken years to scramble the funds and construction to replace it. 

The real fault in all of this lies with TxDOT and the City.  They pushed the feeder and Walmart development and hoped to sweep the issue of the condition of the bridge under the rug.  It should have been replaced when the feeder was expanded and there were closures of Yale St. in place or, at the latest, as part of the Walmart 380 agreement.  But the City and TxDOT at best were oblivious to it and at worst hoped to sweep it under the rug.  The facts are that the bridge is falling apart and must be replaced. 

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5 minutes ago, s3mh said:

From the chron article:

"The federal Highway Bridge Program will cover 80 percent of the costs; the state will pay the remaining 20 percent."

Last I checked, 80 + 20=100, meaning the City of Houston pays nothing to replace the bridge.  The stuff about the bridge being ineligible for funding due to historic some historic designation is pure fiction.

I stand corrected then, on that point, assuming you and the Chronicle are correct.

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Also wrong about the "Walmart NIMBY's" getting it declared historic so Walmart could never replace it.  Although Walmart isn't replacing it.  

The same guy who got the McKee street bridge named historic did that.  And it's irrelevant if it's actually been declared historic or just eligible, they still have to follow the same path which included offering it for sale.  

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/5/2016 at 11:46 AM, s3mh said:

From the chron article:

"The federal Highway Bridge Program will cover 80 percent of the costs; the state will pay the remaining 20 percent."

Last I checked, 80 + 20=100, meaning the City of Houston pays nothing to replace the bridge.  The stuff about the bridge being ineligible for funding due to historic some historic designation is pure fiction.

But you are right that we should thank the anti-Walmart campaign.  They found out that the bridge was not structurally sound and worked hard to get plans in place to replace the bridge.  TxDOT and that City were completely asleep at the wheel as far as keeping track of the bridge's condition and planning for needed repairs and eventual replacement, despite TxDOT knowing that the bridge would see greatly increased traffic with the feeder road expansion and the City knowing that Walmart and the other development in the area would mean increase semitrailer traffic.  But for the civic activism, the issue of the bridge would not have come to light for years and then only when it became an emergency situation due to continual over load use.  Instead of keeping the bridge open with temporary repairs while planning for replacement, the bridge could have been subject to an emergency shutdown and taken years to scramble the funds and construction to replace it. 

The real fault in all of this lies with TxDOT and the City.  They pushed the feeder and Walmart development and hoped to sweep the issue of the condition of the bridge under the rug.  It should have been replaced when the feeder was expanded and there were closures of Yale St. in place or, at the latest, as part of the Walmart 380 agreement.  But the City and TxDOT at best were oblivious to it and at worst hoped to sweep it under the rug.  The facts are that the bridge is falling apart and must be replaced. 

Why is it the Yale St bridge is declared unsafe, but the Heights bridge is OK?  The two must be the same age, at least they look the same and they have the same design. Maybe the city overreacted to  complaints about the bridge and chose to replace it because of publicity created by the Walmart nimby's. It's more political than structural.  Of course all bridges eventually need replacement - Unfortunately the Yale street bridge is getting it earlier than necessary.  I do believe the anti-Walmart zealots are to blame for this. It isn't even an unintended consequence, The anti-Walmart's would burn down the city to stop Walmart.  The end justifies the means with them.

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The Heights bridges were rebuilt like 20 years ago.  The Yale Street Bridge is 80 years old.  Bridges are designed to last 50 years.  How is it getting replaced early?   Why don't you get a group of 5 or 6 other people together and see if you can get a perfectly fine bridge closed to prove your point?  Please keep us posted on your progress.  

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Heights Boulevard  Bridge rebuilt 20 years ago?  I don't think so.  The lamp posts were replaced in 1991, that's all.  The Heights bridge was built in 1922 and has not been rebuilt.  Who says bridges are designed to last only 50 years? You think all Houston bridges built before 1966 are obsolete?  The bridge should be refurbished, not replaced, and not require a two year shut-down.  But, thanks to the political storm created by anti-Walmart fanatics we have a mess...thank you very much.

 

 

HeightsBridgePlaque.jpg

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The Heights bridges were either rebuilt or rehabilitated in 1997 according to the federal bridge data.  

 

I agree that the Yale Street Bridge should be rehabilitated and not replaced.  All of the bridge reports say it should be rehabilitated and not replaced.  

 

You are clearly wrong about the anti Walmart crowd about burning down Houston to get rid of Walmart.  As far as I can tell, both Walmart and Houston are still here, unburnt.  

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Heights Bridge was rehabilitated in 1997 - I believe the Yale St bridge was also rehabilitated in the same project. So why is the Yale bridge being destroyed and not the Heights bridge?  Answer - politics.

 

Yes Walmart is here, and a critical neighborhood bridge is being demolished.  Professional engineers all recommended rehabilitation, not demolition and construction of a new bridge. The motivation to destroy the bridge is suspect and smacks of revenge, and another attempt to drive Walmart away.

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Excuse the interjection gentlemen, but I can confirm the dual bridges on Heights were indeed rebuilt in 1997, as a longtime Heights resident that commuted through the south end of the Heights on a daily basis back then. The SB bridge was closed first, with two way traffic utilizing the NB bridge. Once the SB bridge was completed, the traffic flow was reversed and the NB bridge replaced. The reason the dual Heights bridges look like they do is because many of the old Heights residents went haywire when the thought of a modern looking set of bridges replacing the old ones were contemplated. The lamps themselves have been replaced several times over the years, or at least the glass globes on top. Likely all of them have been broken at one point or another in my 49 years of life. Some of them many times.

 

Yale's bridge has never rebuilt until now, and why it wasn't is as much of a mystery to me as the old Southern Pacific spur bridge over the bayou remaining next to it to this very day. There hasn't been a freight rail there in years. Why that one remnant of the line still stands is flat out ridiculous to me and terribly ugly to boot. 

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Btw, IronTiger, next time you're wanting to drive the continuous length of Yale, come on up to the north end and say hello! You might be interested to know there's even a small section of Yale on the north side of 45 that not everyone even realizes exists.

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1 hour ago, Purpledevil said:

 

Yale's bridge has never rebuilt until now, and why it wasn't is as much of a mystery to me as the old Southern Pacific spur bridge over the bayou remaining next to it to this very day. There hasn't been a freight rail there in years. Why that one remnant of the line still stands is flat out ridiculous to me and terribly ugly to boot. 

 

It's still there because it's part of the hydrology of White Oak Bayou according to the Harris County Flood Control District.

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So that rusty, old steel trestle sitting on wooden pylons next to Yale assists in the improvement of Buffalo Bayou's water quality and movement? Sorry, but I'm skeptical of the District's reasoning for allowing it to remain. Likely more about the cost involved in bringing it down. If that's the case, there should at least be some type of upkeep performed on it. Perhaps a good coating of silver paint on the steel, and a hearty weed wacking to get all of the overgrowth off of it. It would make a nice enough canvas for an artist, along the lines of what the 11th street post office looks like now.

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