Sidney Sherman Bridge
Coordinates	29°43′30″N 95°15′59″W / 29.725086°N 95.266421°W / 29.725086; -95.266421
Carries	10 general purpose lanes of I-610
Crosses	Houston Ship Channel Buffalo Bayou
Locale	Houston, Texas
Official name	Sidney Sherman Bridge
Named for	Sidney Sherman
Maintained by	Texas Department of Transportation
Characteristics
Design	strutted girder
Width	152 feet (46 m)
Longest span	600 feet (180 m)
Clearance below	135 feet (41 m)
History
Opened	March 2, 1973; 51 years ago (1973-03-02)
Location

The Sidney Sherman Bridge is a strutted girder bridge in Houston, Texas. It spans the Houston Ship Channel ( Buffalo Bayou) and carries the East Loop segment of Interstate 610 on the east side of the city. It is more popularly known as the 610 Bridge or Ship Channel Bridge.

History

Construction on the bridge was on the planning boards by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDoT)as far back as 1962. Originally planned with a 400-foot (120 m) mainspan, it was rejected by the Army Corps of Engineers for fear that the narrow main span was a hazard to ships on the Ship Channel. So, a 600 feet (180 m) main span was in the plans, instead, and the Army Corps approved of the design. Construction on the bridge started in 1969, and it was opened to traffic on March 2, 1973 (along with the East Loop of I-610). Just a year before, the National Society of Professional Engineers named the new bridge one of the top-10 outstanding engineering achievements in the nation. In 1974, it was renamed the Sidney Sherman Bridge after Sidney Sherman, who led the Texas Revolution and took part in making the Houston Ship Channel good for navigation.

Controversy

The bridge clearance is 135 feet (41 m), which some officials have deemed too low for ships to navigate. ^[1] By the time the V-struts supporting the mainspan were put in place, the Port of Houston claimed the struts were an even more dangerous hazard to ships that must veer from the middle of the waterway. By some accounts, port officials protested, but TxDoT did not listen to their pleas. The bridge cost TxDoT $19 million in its current configuration; a higher clearance would have cost more, and the agency went on to investigate that ships did not need 120 feet (37 m). This decision proved to be a mistake. Several ships have collided with the bridge over 27 years, but despite this, the bridge only suffered minor damage and was still intact. That all changed in December 2000, when a cargo crane struck the bridge, knocking a hole in the concrete deck and damaging a steel beam. The damage took six weeks to repair, forcing several lanes to be closed in the process. ^[2] The worst accident, though, happened in May 2001, when a freighter's cargo boom caused severe damage to a girder and put another gaping hole in the span. Several lanes of the bridge were closed for two months while repairs were completed.

References

External links

• Sidney Sherman Bridge at Structurae