HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Crews with the Texas Department of Transportation spent much of Monday repairing two parts of the East Freeway after the cracked bridge caused at least 10 flat tires, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
Two westbound lanes of the East Freeway near the San Jacinto River were closed for hours, stalling traffic, as crews worked to repair the issues.
The first crack in the bridge was found just after the Crosby Lynchburg Road exit. The hole was large enough that you could see the San Jacinto River below. The second trouble spot was found less than a mile ahead, near Monmouth Street.
Video of the cracks showed pieces of steel rebar that were poking out. Gonzalez said 10 to 15 cars got flat tires because of the cracks, which according to TxDOT, are the result of damaged expansion joints.
The exact cause of the cracks is still under investigation, but we were told it could be due to wear and tear from traffic.
"On the surface, most times things like this happen due to normal wear and tear, and you know that Interstate I-10 is a main corridor, for commerce, for travel, so we can expect these kinds of things from time to time," Bambi Hall with TxDOT said.
TxDOT said it put a temporary fix in place since the materials they need for a permanent fix are on backorder.
"So that when people cross over, they won't have to worry about any damage to their tires," Hall said.
For drivers whose vehicles were damaged, you can file a claim with TxDOT on its website under risk management.