US-59 San Jacinto River Bridge closure pushed to late March

Many drivers are preparing for the big closure of the US-59 San Jacinto River bridge.

TxDOT now says they will begin work in mid to late March, pushing the timeline back a few weeks.

During Hurricane Harvey, the main channel of the San Jacinto River shifted, affecting the foundation of the southbound bridge.

The bridge can still handle regular traffic, but heavy trucks are already being detoured to the feeder.

The repair work will force a total closure of all of the 59 southbound lanes. The 59 southbound lanes will be moved to 59 northbound, so both directions will be affected.

At McClellan, southbound 59 traffic will be diverted to northbound main lanes. It will rejoin southbound 59 traffic around Townsend. All main lane traffic will be on the northbound bridge.

The dates for this emergency project are fluid, but TxDOT is aiming to start reconfiguring the lanes starting the weekend of March 16. The lanes will remain in this configuration for the duration of the project, which is expected to be 4-6 months.