MAUD, Texas – The Texas Highway 8 Bridge over Wright Patman Lake is officially open to traffic.
Texas Department of Transportation officials say the new bridge will increase water flow and improve safety for daily commuters. Construction crews replaced two bridges crossing over the Sulfur River between Bowie and Cass County with one long bridge.
On Friday, TXDOT celebrated the new Highway 8 Bridge with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The bridge is about 44 feet wide with two 12-foot travel lanes and 10-foot shoulders on each side.
“The extra width on the bridge will give safety for people coming through, as far as a shoulder to get off on for a stalled vehicle or a flat tire or something like that, “said Dusty Rudel, TXDOT project manager.
Rudel says the extended length and higher elevation on the bridge will also help alleviate flooding issues.
“It’s been a challenge and an exciting project, but we sure enjoy a challenge and enjoy projects like this,” said Casey Johnson, Longview Road & Bridge president.
Longview Road and Bridge was awarded the project in 2019.
“We still have another phase of the project to do where we’ve got to tie in some concrete paving on the approaches on both sides,” said Johnson.
The original bridge was built in 1957.
Construction crews will soon begin the process of removing the old highway.
“My prayer is just that this one serves as good of a purpose as the one we had for the last, you know, 60 something years,” said Rudel.
The project took about seven years to complete and cost about $37 million.
