The Fred Hartman Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge in the U.S. state of Texas spanning the

Houston Ship Channel The Houston Ship Channel, in Houston, Texas, is part of the Port of Houston, one of the busiest seaports in the world. The channel is the conduit for ocean-going vessels between Houston-area terminals and the Gulf of Mexico, and it serves an incr ...

. The bridge carries of State Highway 146 (SH 146), between the cities of Baytown and La Porte (east of Houston). The bridge is also expected to carry State Highway 99 (SH 99) (Grand Parkway) when it is completed around Houston. The bridge, named for Fred Hartman (1908–1991), the editor and publisher of the '' Baytown Sun'' from 1950 to 1974, is the longest cable-stayed bridge in Texas, and one of only four such bridges in the state, the others being Veterans Memorial Bridge in

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

, Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in Dallas and Bluff Dale Suspension Bridge in

Erath County Erath County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. According to the United States Census bureau its population was 42,545 in 2020. The county seat is Stephenville. The county is named for George Bernard Erath, an early surveyor a ...

. It is the 77th largest bridge in the world. The construction cost of the bridge was $91.25 million. The bridge replaced the

Baytown Tunnel The Baytown Tunnel or Baytown – La Porte Tunnel was a two-lane underwater motor-vehicle tunnel connecting Baytown and La Porte, two suburbs of Houston, Texas. Completed in 1953, it traveled northeast-southwest underneath the Houston Ship Cha ...

(of depth clearance ). The tunnel had to be removed when the

was deepened to , with a minimum bottom width, to accommodate larger ships. The last section of the Baytown Tunnel was removed from the Houston Ship Channel on September 14, 1999, with removal of the tunnel being the responsibility of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).

Construction

In October 1985 the Texas Highway department announced the project and estimated it would take two years to complete. The bridge was designed by Greiner Engineering, Inc., which was acquired by

URS Corporation URS Corporation (formerly United Research Services) was an engineering, design, and construction firm and a U.S. federal government contractor. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, URS was a full-service, global organization with office ...

in 1995, which in turn was acquired by AECOM in October 2014. Construction began in 1987 and was contracted by Williams Brothers and Traylor Brothers construction companies. In 1993, The firm selected to produce the steel, a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

company, went bankrupt. The contract was then awarded to a South African company which caused complaints because of the country's apartheid policies. After the completion date was pushed back several times, a letter was sent to the Texas Department of Transportation's executive director, William Burnett from the city of Baytown via the Baytown Sun in early 1995 which helped spur interest in finishing the project. Finally, on September 27, 1995 the Fred Hartman Bridge had its grand opening ceremony, which was hosted by Baytown Chamber of Commerce and La Porte Chamber of Commerce. Notable guests include

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

, Miss Texas 1995, William Burnett and the Hartman family. Fred Hartman died in 1991 and did not live to see his dream come to fruition.

References

External links

* {{Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown MSA Cable-stayed bridges in the United States Bridges completed in 1995 Crossings of the Houston Ship Channel Towers in Texas Greater Houston Galveston Bay Area Transportation buildings and structures in Harris County, Texas Road bridges in Texas Steel bridges in the United States Concrete bridges in the United States

Construction

See also

References

External links