PRESS ADVISORY: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 30, 2011
On November 23, 2011, the City of Houston quietly released a CitizensNet public notice noting that TxDOT had drastically lowered the load limit for the Yale Street bridge. The bridge’s original load limit designation of 40,000lbs and 21,000lbs for tandem axle vehicles was estimated for a bridge with no plans on record. TxDOT located the plans, performed a load rating study and cut the load limit to 8,000lbs per single axle and 10,000lbs for tandem axle vehicles. Most bridges in rural settings, that experience low traffic volumes, exceed these load limits. The new Yale Street bridge load limits prohibit nearly every type of commercial truck, from semi-tractor trailer, combination trucks, buses, delivery trucks to large panel vans, from safely passing over the bridge.
The City claims the bridge is safe and will continue to provide service over the long term for traffic within the load ratings. The City states that signage will restrict and redirect trucks to Heights Boulevard south of I-10 with enforcement provided by HPD’s Truck Enforcement Unit. The public continues to witness construction vehicles breaking the law—every day—by crossing the bridge with loads serving the Walmart and Orr developments.
The re-routing of truck traffic to Heights Boulevard will result in 18-wheelers attempting unsignalized turns—crossing a walking trail, bike lanes—into a difficult reverse curve at the new Koehler Street extension. The at-grade rail crossing will further impact congestion. To avoid chronic roadway conditions, and maintain delivery schedules, big-rigs will likely attempt illegal trips over the Yale Street bridge or down residential streets, breaking ‘No Thru Truck’ ordinances and creating critical conditions for public safety.
To the public’s knowledge, the City of Houston has performed no structural study for the bridge that considers the new projected traffic impacts reported in the Traffic Impact Analysis performed for Ainbinder by Kimley-Horn & Associates or those generated by the currently under construction Yale feeder roads. This analysis projects severe congestion from failing grade intersections 200ft, both North and South, of the Yale Street bridge’s deck.
To resolve concerns for school bus safety, on August 27, 2011, RUDH met with the Houston Independent School District’s Chief Operating Officer, Leo Bobadilla and Issa Dadoush, General Manager of Construction and Facility Services, to request that school buses no longer use the Yale Street bridge. HISD pro-actively responded by re-routing buses prior to school year commencing.
RUDH continues to lobby the City of Houston for a structural study that accounts for new, projected impacts and is concerned that resurfacing of the bridge could result in an increase in dead-weight on the deck and catastrophic failure similar to that which occurred in Minnesota. The public is contracted to reimburse Ainbinder $6,000,000 via tax relief to improve surface streets wrapping the Walmart development. None of these monies have been earmarked to structurally upgrade the antique bridge that is the main artery to the Walmart development.
State Representative Jessica Farrar stated in a letter dated April 15, 2011, “I have become increasingly worried about the possibility of trucks using the Yale Street bridge…If trucks are not allowed on this route, the issue becomes one of enforcement–specifically, whether or not any and all offenders will be caught. It will only take one fateful trip over the bridge to create catastrophe.”
