Renovation of New Braunfels Avenue overpass doesn't go as planned

Decorative arches came out lopsided

SAN ANTONIO – The renovation of the old New Braunfels Avenue overpass over Interstate 35 didn't come out the way it was planned.

The Texas Department of Transportation released pictures on its blog this week of the decorative arches that were supposed to be one of the highlights of the renovation of the bridge.

The problem is that they came out lopsided.

"What happened with this bridge, when the forms were set and those Styrofoam chunks were out in place, those Styrofoam pieces kind of shifted when the concrete was being formed. And it created a situation that looks pretty bad, actually," said Josh Donat, a spokesman for Texas Department of Transportation.  

While the structural integrity of the bridge is fine, it was supposed to have an aesthetic "Mission design" with arched windows, but some of the windows were off.

"Unfortunately, we weren't able to discover it until the remainder of the old bridge was wrecked out," Donat said. "We're going to be stuck with what we have for the time being."

Donat said at the end of the project when crews are able to move traffic away from the rail, they will go back in and replace that portion of the bridge at the contractor's cost.

Donat said they know how to stop the foam from shifting in the future and they are going to make sure the contractor will go through that process on the other side, as well as the portion that needs to be fixed.

"Frankly, it's embarrassing when we have a product look like that," Donat said. "That is absolutely not reflective of the work we produce here at the Texas Department of Transportation, and it's something we intend to make sure is rectified."

TxDOT has already paid for some of the work, but it has not paid for the completed rail and it will not pay until it is torn down again and redone.

KSAT has been told it shouldn't really impact the duration of the work.


About the Author:

Stephanie Serna is a weekday anchor on Good Morning San Antonio and GMSA at 9 a.m. She joined the KSAT 12 News team in November 2009 as a general assignments reporter.