By Anita Miller
San Marcos — The IH-35 bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis lrecently is a long way from Hays County, but allegations that the extra weight on the structure from construction activities may have figured in its failure brings to mind a recent close call involving a San Marcos River crossing.
Back on April 4, 2003, it wasn’t human life at risk but that of the river itself, as a tanker truck loaded with herbicide got stuck with two wheels off the one-lane low-water bridge at CR 266 (Old Bastrop Road).
Had the truck’s contents spilled, officials said at the time, it could have killed everything in the river for miles downstream.
The old bridge wasn’t rated for anywhere near the weight of the tanker, which became stuck after it’s driver, who was en route from Lubbock to Lockhart and was supposedly “looking for Hwy. 80,” took a wrong turn late one night down the two-lane road that goes through a sharp turn on the bridge approach.
When authorities arrived they found that the two drivers side rear tires of the 18-wheeler had gone off the side of the bridge, leaving the tanker stranded precariously with its cargo of liquid Grazon™.
Law officers and news crews stood by the next day as crews arrived to first stabilize the truck by attaching it to tow trucks at either end and then to off-load the deadly herbicide. About 18 hours after the driver’s mistake, the tanker was emptied enough to be towed off without further consequence.
The CR 266 bridge has a weight limit of 28,000 lbs, and officials said the tanker-trailer weighed approximately 70,000 lbs.
A member of Texas Parks & Wildlife’s Spills and Kills team said that if the 4,082 gallons of herbicide had entered the water, it could have killed aquatic wildlife and vegetation likely all the way to the coast.
Plans are now in the design stage to replace the old bridge with one that is higher and wider at two lanes. Hays County Road Engineer Supervisor Jerry Borcherding said heavy truck traffic will probably also be restricted on the new bridge; and that there will likely still be a sharp turn in the approach to the bridge due to topography issues.
amiller@sanmarcosrecord.com
