The city of Orange is preparing for the removal of the Interstate 10 frontage road bridges at Adams Bayou. The city council Tuesday agreed to remove and relocate an aerial waterline that crosses a bridge.
The action included passing a resolution supporting the waterline relocation. The council also agreed to hire Schaumburg and Polk engineering to design the relocation at a cost of about $93,500.
Public Works Director Jim Wolf said the Texas Department of Transportation will pay up to 90 percent of the costs to relocate the waterline.
“Hopefully, we will get a new bridge over Adams Bayou,” Wolf said.
TxDOT announced in November that the two frontage road bridges that are even with the roadway will be removed and new ones built. A group of Little Cypress residents had been lobbying to get the bridges removed since the Harvey flood in 2017. They said the bridges catch debris and cause a dam for water draining southward down the bayou.
TxDOT had scheduled a public hearing on Thursday about the bridge removal, but it was canceled.
Also during the meeting, the council agreed to hire Ashbritt, Inc., in a pre-disaster contract for debris removal. Deputy Fire Chief Lee Ann Brown, who is the city’s emergency management coordinator, said the city will now have the same contractor as the county.
The city will have Tetra Tech as debris removal monitor. The monitors follow trucks picking up debris and make sure they are reporting the correct amounts for FEMA reimbursement.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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