TxDOT says the Houston Avenue bridge over I-10 has been hit 68 times this year. A long-term solution is underway, but it won’t be completed until mid-2028.
HOUSTON — After two trucks hit the I-10 bridge over Houston Avenue late last week, we checked with TxDOT to see how many times it’s happened this year.
Their records show the bridge has been struck 68 times so far in 2025, but only seven of those strikes led to an emergency response, according to a TxDOT spokesperson.
One of those crashes sent debris flying into a woman’s car. Robyn Hackett is still recovering after an excavator on a flatbed hit the bridge on Saturday night.
She recalls the split second she came to a stop.
“You have steel, you have asphalt and all the other debris coming at you at that velocity, it’s extremely scary,” Hackett told KHOU 11.
Now, Hackett is worried that other drivers could be in danger, too.
“I just don’t want this to happen to somebody else, and what if there had been somebody in a passenger seat, a child or a loved one, that could have been them losing their life, you know, so I want some change,” Hackett said.
She wants to see stricter fines for truck drivers who don’t have clearance permits.
The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles can issue fines for truckers and police can write tickets too. TxDOT also has monitors along I-10 at Wirt Road and Mercury Road to alert truck drivers if they are over the height limit.
There is also a long-term solution underway.
The I-10 White Oak Bayou project will elevate the lanes of I-10 to go above the Houston Avenue bridge. Unfortunately, that construction won’t be complete until mid-2028, according to TxDOT.
It’s a solution that Hackett says can’t come soon enough.
“Nobody wants to see someone lose their life over something such as infrastructure that can easily be remedied,” Hackett said. “Of course projects take time, and I am aware that there is a project underway to develop that area, but I think four years is too long.”
Construction will continue in 2026 when the FIFA World Cup comes to Houston.
TxDOT says it will work to amplify its messaging during the World Cup about potential impacts.
“Our overall goal is to minimize those impacts during the World Cup, including limiting lane closures and keeping lanes open,” TxDOT spokesperson Danny Perez said.