Construction Underway for CR 137 Bridge

SMITH COUNTY — Smith County Road and Bridge crews began the task of replacing a well-traveled bridge on County Road 137 just north of Bullard this week. County officials say the wooden bridge, which crosses over Henshaw Creek, was only large enough to allow a single car to pass at a time. The replacement bridge will be made of concrete, will have a full two lanes, and will improve a number of safety issues for that road, officials say. Crews are moving the location of the bridge slightly to straighten out what’s termed a dangerous curve in CR 137. A county news release says that will improve visibility for both directions of traffic. Weather allowing, the project should be complete in approximately 14 weeks, according to a county news release.

The Henshaw Creek bridge is one of several bridge projects that Smith County and TxDOT have partnered to complete in the last year. Through the Off-System Highway Bridge Program, Smith County and TxDOT have worked to inspect, rate, and determine which bridges are in most need of repair within the County. Smith County then pays a 10 percent match for the replacement costs and the project is expedited with TxDOT supplementing the other 90 percent of the project total with federal funds. CR 132 and CR 2115 both received major bridge reconstruction last year through the Off-System Highway Bridge Program.