The Bolivar Bridge was a proposed bridge connecting

Galveston Island Galveston Island ( ) is a barrier island on the Texas Gulf Coast in the United States, about southeast of Houston. The entire island, with the exception of Jamaica Beach, is within the city limits of the City of Galveston in Galveston County. T ...

and the

Bolivar Peninsula Bolivar Peninsula ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Galveston County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,417 at the 2010 census. The communities of Port Bolivar, Crystal Beach, Caplen, Gilchrist, and High Island are located on ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. Its intention was to replace the Bolivar Ferry, the only direct connection for traffic from Galveston Island.

Bolivar Ferry

Service between

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Ga ...

and

Port Bolivar Port Bolivar ( ) is an unincorporated community located on the northern shore of the western tip of the Bolivar Peninsula, separated from Galveston Island by the entrance to Galveston Bay. The Bolivar Peninsula itself is a census-designated place ...

is currently provided via a ferry operated by the

Texas Department of Transportation The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) is a government agency in the American state of Texas. Though the public face of the agency is generally associated with the construction and maintenance of the state's immense state highway system ...

(TxDOT) linking both halves of State Highway 87. The state-operated ferry has operated since 1934, replacing earlier operations. Due to the rapid growth of the

Greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States, encompassing nine counties along the Gulf Co ...

area (which includes

Galveston County Galveston County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, located along the Gulf Coast adjacent to Galveston Bay. As of the 2020 census, the population was 350,682. The county was founded in 1838. The county seat is the City of Galveston, ...

), the commute time required to board the ferry has rapidly increased (during the summer the wait can be up to two hours), which slows emergency response times (there are few emergency services, and no hospitals, on the peninsula, thus requiring trips to Galveston). Maintenance costs for the ferry crossing have risen to approximately $12 million per year, a 200 percent increase in the last eight years alone. The ferry is unusable in the event a tropical storm or hurricane approaches the area, thus forcing evacuating traffic onto the other two egresses from the island (

Interstate 45 Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Texas. While most Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, with the ...

and a two-lane toll bridge on the west end of the island), and projected ship traffic in Galveston Bay (including 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 in ...

) is expected to increase dramatically in the coming years. Bolivar Ferry

The Original Ferry consisted of three vessels. Traditionally, these have always been named for significant directors of the TxDOT. The first three vessels were named "Cone Johnson", "E.H. Thornton, Jr." and "R.S. Sterling". All three of these original ferry boats have been replaced with five slightly larger vessels. The first two had fixed shaft/propeller designs as the original boats. The following three were built with the same basic hull, but steerable prop pods. The oldest of the second generation boats is named " Gibb Gilchrist", followed by the " Robert C. Lanier", "Dewitt C. Greer", "Ray Stoker, Jr.", and the " Robert H. Dedman". The later 4 vessels are all painted in a differing color scheme to honor various universities of the State. Consecutively as named above starting with the Lanier, these schemes are Orange/White for UT, Maroon/White for TAMU, Green/Gold for Baylor U., and Red/Blue for Southern Methodist U.

Proposal

In 2000, TxDOT identified immediate need for improvements to the ferry crossing, specifically a third landing site (which is under construction), and also identified that the best long term solution was to replace the ferry with a bridge linking Galveston and Port Bolivar. The option to make the bridge a toll bridge is being considered along with other options. TxDOT held meetings with the Galveston and Port Bolivar communities to obtain input. A third ferry landing being built was considered an interim solution only; the long-term goal is a permanent fixed crossing. TxDOT identified the following alternatives: *"No Build" (no improvements) – rejected as ferry system is at capacity *Expansion of ferry system – rejected as the system cannot be relied upon during evacuation or bad weather *Tunnel Crossing – rejected due to high cost and vehicle/cargo restrictions The final solution was to build a bridge between the communities. Four tentative corridors were identified: *Route 1-1, using the existing State Highway 87 corridor *Route 1-2, using the Galveston Seawall as a corridor *Route 1-3, using nearby Pelican Island (immediately north of Galveston Island) as a corridor at approximately . *Route 2 (including alternatives 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3), using the Texas City Dike as a corridor The preferred corridor is Route 1-3, the Pelican Island alternative. One estimate for the cost of the bridge was $240 million.

Cancellation of Project

After numerous environmental studies,

TxDOT The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) is a government agency in the American state of Texas. Though the public face of the agency is generally associated with the construction and maintenance of the state's immense state highway system ...

worked with the Houston-Galveston district and made a final plan to cancel the project. The plan was canceled in 2007. A partner to support the project was a deciding factor for not building the bridge. The ferry systems will remain as the access point to the

from Galveston Island.

Bolivar Ferry

Proposal

Cancellation of Project

References

Related links