Built: 1992 Cost: $117,500,000.00 Designed by: District 12 of the Texas Department of Highways and Public Transportation Type: Bridge Maximum Height: 440 feet / 134 meters Maximum length: 1,250 feet Location: Texas 146, La Porte, United States
A n elegant misfit in the brutal world of Houston transportation, the Fred Hartman bridge gracefully carries traffic up and over the Houston Ship Channel between the cities of La Porte and Baytown. A recent addition to the area, it stands proudly on par with the great cable-stay bridges of the world including the more relaxed, but still pioneering, Erasmusbrug in Rotterdam. Two sets of steel-reinforced diamonds carry two separate bridge decks of Texas 146 to a height of 178 feet that keeps them away from the traffic of the busy seaport. The towers are each 440 feet tall, and the bridge itself is 1,250 feet long. Photographing the bridge can be difficult because of the lack of access roads and the marshy terrain in the area. The only way to really appreciate this bridge and its yellow diamonds is to have someone else drive you over it.
The Fred Hartman Bridge replaced the Baytown-La Porte Tunnel, which replaced the Morgans Point Ferry. A $17.5 million plan was put together to have the tunnel was sealed, its tube floated in three sections 30 miles off the coast of Galveston Island, and sunk to form an artificial reef. That plan was cancelled in 1997 because of insurance costs and the inconvenience of closing the Houston Ship Channel during transport. Instead, the tunnel was demolished in place.
Ray
Thursday, April 24th, 2008 @ 12:04am
Rating: Five stars. I was born in Baytown in 1951 and moved to Houston in 1963 then moved to Tennessee in 1987. I grew up driving through the old Baytown/Laport tunnel. I always thought of it as a novelty. I had not been to Baytown in over 20 years when I visited 2 years ago. At that time I had no idea the tunnel was gone and could not believe my eyes when I approached this new bridge at night. Really nice and something the area should be very proud of. Hard to believe the old tunnel is gone.
Adrian
Thursday, August 16th, 2007 @ 8:25pm
Rating: Five stars. Its a beautiful bridge. I think we can say that BOTH Baytown and La Porte are proud of it, although La Porte seems to showcase it more...Whatever it belongs to the port of houston.
Deana
Tuesday, June 26th, 2007 @ 2:02pm
Rating: Five stars. This bridge is totally awesome!Beautiful to look at and great to drive on, nice ride and great view of the industies. This is something that you may take for granted, unless you grew up to appreciate the beauty of the area.
Brittany Hoover
Wednesday, March 28th, 2007 @ 3:46pm
Rating: Five stars. I've lived in Baytown since I was born in 1986 and I love this bridge...it's the pride of Baytown. I used to hate the tunnel because of all of the traffic...and when I was a little kid I could never hold my breath all the way through it. La Porte sucks, why do they get to claim the bridge? I say it belongs to Baytown. The bridge is as gorgeous as it is massive. It's a lot of fun to take the boat out and go under it on the water...it's a lot more quiet than going over it in a car :)
Michael Beck
Saturday, March 24th, 2007 @ 10:03pm
Rating: Five stars. I ran the tower crane and the derrick cranes that set the main span on the Fred Hartman Bridge. I worked for Williams Brothers at the time and it was an experience of a lifetime for myself and fellow co-workers.
Ginnie Groda
Thursday, January 25th, 2007 @ 3:40pm
Rating: Four stars. Wish my husband had lived to see it. He was very excited about how the bridge would open up this area for commerce.
Delores McLeod
Thursday, May 19th, 2005 @ 1:55pm
Rating: Five stars. Thank you for answering my question about who the bridge was named after. The Fred Hartman Bridge is one of the most beautiful bridges I have ever seen and I have seen many in my travels through my 70 years.
Delores McLeod
Thursday, May 19th, 2005 @ 12:01pm
Rating: One star. The bridge is truly beautiful. My daughter lived in Baytown for 18 years and we traveled across the bridge many times.
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Ray
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