TXDOT rebuilding Fabens Bridge, closures expected to last 4 months

FABENS, Texas (KVIA) -- The almost 64-year-old Fabens Bridge is being demolished by the Texas Department of Transportation this week. Officials said they will build a new bridge with several improvements, which will result in closures for several months.

Officials said the demolition is expected to be complete by this weekend. The bridge at Interstate-10 and Exit 49 will be closed in both directions, and the closures are expected to last for four months.

"The new bridge will be taller, wider, have more columns, and will have concrete rail instead of metal," said Lauren Macias-Cervantes, a spokesperson for TXDOT.

The taller bridge will allow clearance for larger vehicles, like semi-trucks. Meanwhile, widening the bridge permits having 10-foot shoulders: something the old bridge did not have.

Zilthai Soto, TXDOT's Bridge and Survey Supervisor for the El Paso District, explained that the improvements were not only safety-oriented, but also focusing on preventing future closures.

"The importance of having more columns on the bridge is to allow for structural redundancy. Should the bridge ever get hit, it can remain open to the traveling public on the structure itself. And you have other columns to be able to carry the loads of that structure," he said.

Soto said drivers should plan alternate routes, and give themselves more time if planning to travel through the area.