Herring Bridge Rehabilitation

  • CLIENT City of Waco

  • LOCATION Waco, TX

PROJECT STATS

  • Location

    Waco, TX

  • SERVICES

    Structural

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The Herring Bridge Vehicular Bridge over the Brazos River was originally designed in November 1969 and constructed in 1972. The structure consists of two twin continuous steel girder bridges, each spanning approximately 917 feet. Serving as a major arterial roadway, the Herring Bridge provides a vital connection between downtown Waco and East Waco. In March 2003, the Martin Luther King Recreational Trail was constructed, as part of that project, a cantilevered pedestrian walkway was added to the exterior of the eastbound bridge. As part of the 2022 Bridge Repair Package, a team led by Steve Martin and Macallan Goaley replaced the deteriorated rocker bearings with disc bearings. The original bearings had degraded due to prolonged accumulation of debris and moisture caused by the existing finger joints. Further assessments conducted by staff determined the deterioration of the bearings would continue to occur if the finger joints were not replaced.

SERVICE DETAILS

The City of Waco, Quiddity staff, and TxDOT identified several additional issues, including extensive cracking and large potholes in the asphalt overlay, impact damage to portions of the separator rail, and areas of concrete riprap requiring repair. The cantilever sidewalk on the westbound bridge was also found to have structural deficiencies, including rotting boards beneath the walkway, loose planks, and sheared off anchor bolts.
 
In 2024, the City of Waco contracted Quiddity to design a rehabilitation project to address the issues on the vehicular travel lanes and the pedestrian walkways. The scope of work included repairing all TxDOT BRINSAP action items, assessing and rebuilding cantilever sidewalk connections, replacing the decking on the sidewalk, installing modular expansion joints, repairing the bridge rail and deck, and applying a polyester polymer overlay on the deck. The construction documents were advertised for bids in Summer 2025, with Quiddity's cost estimate coming within 2% of the lowest submitted bid, which showcases a strong grasp of the construction market conditions and well-defined plans.