FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas – Fort Bend County commissioners officially approved a $17.5 million project Tuesday, but work on the Jodie Stavinohoa Bridge, one of the busiest bridges in the county, has been underway for 30 days.
"Everything comes together to cross the river on that bridge so all that traffic moves across the bridge then spreads out again," Fort Bend County Judge Bob Herbert said.
While it's still considered safe, the three major floods in 2015 and 2016 caused major erosion at the bank of the Brazos River at Grand Parkway.
"Over the last 40 months, the river channel has moved 126 feet north and we have a bridge support that used to be in the ground now hanging in the river," Herbert said.
VIDEO: Grand Parkway bridge repair drone video
Herbert said the bridge cannot withstand another major flood, so crews are working to build a reinforced concrete barrier against the river.
Traffic will be down to one lane each way during peak hours for the duration of the project, which could be completed by late fall at the earliest, or 2018 at the latest.
