M-K-T Bridge reopening gets postponed
Months after a fire closed a key Houston trail link, opening day for the M-K-T Bridge remains up in the air, after workers discovered more repairs are needed to the old railroad crossing.
“They found additional damage caused by the fire that was not visible during the initial assessment,” the Houston Parks Board said in a statement. “Further repairs are needed before the bridge can safely reopen. In addition, there is also damage to the bridge caused by wear and tear that we would like to address while it is closed.”
That leaves the link along the Heights Hike and Bike Trail near Interstate 10 and White Oak Bayou closed for an undetermined period, officials said. Initially parks board officials planned to have the bridge open by the end of summer.
The span dates back decades, part of the old Missouri-KansasTexas Railroad line that once linked trains to the Heights and beyond. It was retrofitted a decade ago as part of the Heights Hike and Bike Trail that runs along 7th and Nicholson.
Officials closed the bridge after an Aug. 19 fire broke out in brush along the north side of White Oak Bayou. The blaze, investigated as an arson, charred the wooden beams that support the trail bridge. Houston Parks Board and city officials spent months assessing and then approving fixes to the span.
Now with more work needed, much of that process starts over again, with engineers designing the repair and the city issuing permits.
“As a result of this new development, and for safety reasons, the bridge will remain closed,” parks board officials said. “We are disappointed that the bridge will not open as originally planned and cannot say for certain when the bridge will reopen to trail users.”
The news comes days after trail runners and cyclists got good news on the nearby trail. District C council member Abbie Kamin announced Sept. 2 that work would start soon on a connection from the White Oak Trail along the north side of the bayou to the Heights Trail just north of the closed bridge.