Tropical Depression Imelda caused more erosion at the FM 787 bridge over the Trinity River near Romayor. A large chunk of the eastside approach to the bridge gave way, forcing the Texas Department of Transportation to put up more traffic cones to alert drivers to the hazard.
Sarah Dupre, spokesperson for TxDOT’s Beaumont District, says that TxDOT is monitoring the erosion while planning for a new bridge and making repairs.
“We have been working with the Army Corps of Engineers and [the] Federal Highway Administration on an upcoming project since the end of 2017 to make repairs to the embankment and bridge approaches,” she said. “We now have the necessary permits and are awaiting approval from the Federal Highway Administration to send the project out for bids.”
Past flood events have chipped away at the approaches, prompting TxDOT to limit the bridge to one-way traffic with a stop light regulating the eastbound and westbound traffic flow.
In previous reports, Dupre said the Trinity River is slowly changing its course, which has caused the erosion.
The Trinity River bridge on FM 787 was built in 1976 and was lengthened in 2003. Some repairs were made in 2018, but subsequent flood events that pushed the river to flood stage resulted in more damage.