I-10 reopens after big rig severely damages Houston Avenue overpass

HOUSTON – Interstate 10 eastbound traffic at Houston Avenue moved again Wednesday afternoon.

That was not the case early in the day.  

Houston Police said around 1 a.m. a backhoe on the back of an 18 wheeler hit an overpass, struck each beam and peeled off a protective steel plate.

The steel plate served like a giant can opener opening up and splitting four trucks that later took the route near downtown Houston.  It was later cut off by TXDOT crews.  

TXDOT said the bridge is safe, but the truck did not have a permit for the high load.  

This is at least the fourth time this year that a truck that was too tall struck the bridge.

TransStar cameras captured images of a similar impact on April 20 when another 18 wheeler hit the overpass.  

That impact also shut down the eastbound lanes on I-10.  

"We're going to do some work on I-10, 45, there in the downtown area.  Including some of the freeways to the south.  As part of that plan, we'll do some work on that bridge,” Danny Perez, TXDOT Spokesman said.  

He said the eventual plan is to replace the Houston Avenue and Hogan/Crockett bridges, which is part of the North Houston Highway Improvement Project.

TXDOT said that could happen in the next five to 10 years. For now, the priority is to fix the damage.  

This is the fourth time this year that the bridge has been struck.

In February, a big rig also hit the bridge and lost its load of cargo.

Another 18-wheeler hit the bridge in April.

In June, a large container that was apparently on a flatbed trailer was knocked off and was laying on the freeway.

Check out a timeline of the incidents below: