The Houston Ship Channel is a busy place, and widening the Sam Houston Tollway will require new twin bridges across the Houston Ship Channel.The main span of each of the cable-stayed bridges will be 1,320 ft, and they will provide four toll lanes and full shoulders in both directions. One of the largest challenges is the coordination of the construction processes amid 120 major utility pipelines and bustling UPRR and PTRA rail lines at one of the country’s busiest seaports, says Mike Perez, Harris County Toll Road Authority senior staff engineer. Another challenge is poor soils at the site, which will require the drill shafts for pylons to be more than 200 ft deep, he says.
Source: http://enr.com