Houston Avenue Bridge above I-10 Katy Freeway hit by 18-wheeler carrying large cylinders

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- An 18-wheeler carrying large cylinders hit the Houston Avenue Bridge over I-10 Katy Freeway, causing closures in both directions on Wednesday.

The Houston Police Department confirmed a big rig hit the bridge around 10 p.m. on Tuesday.

On Wednesday morning, crews were still on the scene checking the bridge. As of 10:30 a.m., TranStar cameras show the incident has since been cleared.

READ MORE: I-10 westbound reduced from 5 to 3 lanes in Heights area for White Oak Bayou Project construction

One of the biggest pieces of the project is that Houston Avenue will run under I-10 -- so there will be no more Houston Avenue Bridge for 18-wheelers to hit, and often cause hours-long backups.

The Houston Avenue Bridge has long been an issue for 18-wheeler drivers on I-10. It gets hit dozens of times a year, typically resulting in hours-long traffic backups.

TxDOT's I-10 White Oak Bayou project, which started construction in January, aims to fix that issue by moving Houston Avenue under I-10. The other goal of the project is to help with road flooding in the area.

The Houston Avenue Bridge work is scheduled for mid-2025 through late 2027. The entire project won't be finished until late 2028.