Transportation News, Volume 18, Number 5, January 1993 Page: 1
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What's Inside
If you have a gripe serious enough
for the department to take action, you
have new options in the official
grievance process. Page 2
A department employee recently
discovered a sister he never knew.
Their joyous meeting is a tale to bring
a tear to even the most jaded eye.
Page 8
Two deaths sadden the transporta-
tion family: Edward Speer of the
Fort Worth District was killed on the
job Nov. 24, and Charles Simons,
former commission chairman and
supporter of good roads and aviation,
died Dec. 25. Page 11
On our Covers
The blooms along Angelina County
roadsides attracted attention from the
Federal Highway Administration,
which gave the Lufkin District an
award for the wildflower seeding
project. A Dallas District project and
TxDOT's antilitter programs won
national awards recently also, as
recounted on page 6.
On our inside cover, project inspec-
tor Pat Pearson, left, Silsbee Area
Engineer Edward Dominguez and
Engineering Assistant Jason Parks
review plans for an off-system bridge
project in Hardin County. The three
are on a temporary floating bridge
that serves as a detour during
construction.
TRANSPORTATION
newSVolume 18
Number
5
JANUARY 1993
A newsletter pub-
lished monthly by
the Division of
Travel and Informa-
tion, Texas Dpartment
of Transportation, 125 E.
11th Street, Austin, Texas 78701-
2483. Manuscripts, photos, news
tips invited. Send submissions to
above address or telephone the edi-
tors at 512/463-8588 or TexAN 255-8588.
Executive Editor ...............................Al Zucha
Editor ..................................Gina McAskilll
Associate Editor......... ....Jeff Carmack
Staff........Ronda Baker, Cheryl Converse,
Mel Cummings, Kerry Kutch,
Roger Poison, Emily Willingham
Staff photographers ......................Geoff Appold,
Jack Lewis, Gay Shackelford,
Griff Smith, Kevin Stillman
Photo librarian ......................................Anne Cook44
Floating bridge over troubled
waters aids rural motoristsA temporary floating bridge has brought relief to
a small southeast Texas community.
For years, residents near Cooks Lake north of
Beaumont have used a timber bridge to cross
Village Slough. But flooding had damaged the
bridge on Cooks Lake Road and prevented even
school buses and fire trucks from crossing it.
"It had gotten to the point where the school bus
would drop off kids on the west side, then they
would walk across and another bus that was
permanently placed on the east side across the
slough would take them on home," said Silsbee
Area Engineer Edward Dominguez. "They also had
to leave a fire truck on the east side of the bridge
because it was dangerous to cross it."
Dominguez's office is supervising the replace-
ment of the damaged bridge. But before the seven-
month project could begin, a detour was needed for
the nearly 2,000 vehicles that use the bridge daily.
The road is the sole access to the community.
"The contractor recommended this Flexifloat
bridge," said Dominguez. "They were able to installit quicker and as cheaply as any other available
solution, and it can handle any legal load."
In fact, Dominguez said a 200,000-pound crane
was moved across the bridge during one phase of
the construction.
"The sections are about 5 feet high," he said.
"Under no-load conditions about 3-1/2 feet are
above water. When we moved that crane, only
about a foot showed."
The bridge is manufactured by a Houston
company. It is made up of interlocking units and
took about eight hours to install. The bridge spans
135 feet across Village Slough just above Pine
Island Bayou.
If rain causes the slough to rise, the bridge will
rise along with it. Cables anchor the bridge on each
end and prevent it from being washed away.
"This floating bridge really saved the day on this
project," said Dominguez. "There were a limited
number of desirable and affordable alternatives and
we are extremely satisfied with this one."4 Roger
PoisonThis paper contains 50 percent recycled fiber, at least 10 percent coming from post-consumer waste.
It is recyclable with other white paper.L)
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Texas. Department of Transportation. Transportation News, Volume 18, Number 5, January 1993, periodical, January 1993; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth576326/m1/1/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.