Landreth Dam bridge damaged, closed for repairs

By Sam Waller

A Shackelford County landmark was damaged and a well-traveled road in the county cut off just before Thanksgiving.

The Landreth Dam bridge has been closed to traffic since Nov. 23, when an excavator collided with the crossbeam of each portal, cutting off access to the southeastern part of the county by that route.

The bridge, located about 11 miles east of Albany on FM 601 at Hubbard Creek, is of historical significance, according to Texas Department of Transportation’s Glenn Allbritton.

“It’s an historical truss bridge,” said Allbritton, district engineer for ­TxDOT’s Abilene District. “A lot of the support is from the metal frame above the bridge. There are very few of those left in the state.”

And the bridge is historic because it still carries vehicle traffic.

“It’s still working on our system,” said Tracy Jones, bridge engineer for the Abilene District. “Others are like a walking bridge that are separated from our system.”

Jones said most of the damage was to the top part of the support structure.

“Those bars that come across the top is what were damaged,” he said. “Also, one of the sloping supports was damaged.”

As for how long it will take to repair the bridge, that’s a question for which there is no answer yet.

Allbritton said TxDOT is in the process of letting emergency contracts, which will be faster and allow more flexibility than the regular bid process.

“We do have the plans done,” he said.

Allbritton said plans will be sent to contractors Monday with bids due by the end of the week.

“Hopefully, we’ll have a contractor on board by the end of the month,” he said. “The question I can’t answer is when that contractor will start the work. Their bids will include when they start and when they’ll finish.”

One option that isn’t on the table is to demolish the bridge and start over.

“We won’t do that because it’s historical,” Allbritton said. “It’s going to have to be repaired.”

And that’s where the next problem occurs.

“In order to repair this bridge, we’re going to have to fabricate some steel parts,” Allbritton said. “We’re told by the material suppliers that the process could take about two months.”

And it could be longer, Jones said.

“Steel right now is at a premium,” he said. “The end date depends on where the project falls in that fabrication schedule and if the steel is available.”

But Allbritton said the road would be reopened before the work is actually completed.

“We’ve designed a temporary solution to support the bridge to where we can put traffic back on it,” he said. “That’s our first step. We’re going to get it open and wait until the true metal’s fabricated to match what’s already there.”

Jones said the temporary repairs would allow the bridge to operate at its normal capacity.