Watching the river

A hodgepodge of agencies control roads, bridges and other crossings over the Brazos River. Each has a different role to play. Fort Bend County: Maintains 220 bridges that sit over channels leading to the Brazos River. Fort Bend Grand Parkway Toll Road Authority: Maintains the most vulnerable of the county’s bridges, the Jodie Stavinoha. Texas Department of Transportation: Keeps tabs on local bridges, in addition to taking direct responsibility for the other major thoroughfares over the Brazos. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Monitors the potential impacts to the waterway and the people who live along it. U.S. Coast Guard: Watches the ability of boats to navigate. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: Keeps an eye on the ecosystems and Brazos Bend State Park.