The Fred Hartman Bridge

   

 

         " The Baytown Bridge"

 

The Fred Hartman Bridge is a proud symbol and historical landmark of Baytown in that its one of the most alluring structures you will come across today in our city. It brings a symbol of growth in our society , showing how Baytown has expanded. The bridge was built to replace the Baytown tunnel and provide fellow commuters a way to travel gracefully between La Porte and Baytown. Without this bridge we would have a very difficult time traveling having to make our way around the surrounding waters. It's almost impossible to miss while your in the city, you can practically see it from miles away while driving around town.

 

 

The Bridge was names after Fred Hartman who was the editor and publisher of The Baytown Sun from 1950 to 1974. The construction of the bridge started in 1986 and was completed on September 27,1995. The Bridge was designed and is owned by the district 12 of the Texas department of highway and public transportation. It was constructed by the Williams brothers who have their local office here in Houston; they are known to have built highways and bridges for the past 50 years. The bridge replaced the Baytown tunnel when it had to be removed because the ship channel was deepened to 45 feet to accommodate larger ships. The bridge provides a capacity of 200,000 vehicles per day compared to the tunnels capacity of 25,00 per day. In 1996 the bridge received The Merit Bridge Award from the American institute of steel construction and the National Steel Bridge Alliance. The Fred Hartman bridge is the tallest bridge in Texas.



 

The bridge consists of two 24 meters wide composite concrete decks suspended from diamond shaped concrete towers using a total of 192 stays. the stays are comprised of multiple 15mm. seven wire strands grouted inside HDPE tubes. The yellow stayed bridge portion of the bridge is 754 meters long, consisting of steel griders and transverse beams, and includes a 381 meter main span.

 

On this beautiful Friday night me and my fiancé love to just go for a ride across the bridge. Right before we get ready to get onto the bridge we roll our windows down, turn up the oldies we are jamming to and just enjoy the cruise. I can feel the breeze of the wind going through my hair and feel the sway like feeling. The view is incredible you can see all the lights from the refineries, the ship channel and of peoples houses. The sky looks amazing I can see every star in the sky so bright and clear it just looks like im on top of the world looking down on everything!

 

 

Works Cited



 

"Baytown, Texas Historical Sites." Baytown, Texas Historical Sites. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.

 "Fred Hartman Bridge - Harris County, Texas." Fred Hartman Bridge. Pure Technologies, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.