HOUSTON — Update: The freeway has since reopened as of 1:30 p.m.
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Eastbound traffic on the Katy Freeway is being diverted to I-45 after a truck struck the Houston Ave. bridge.
All mainlanes near Houston Ave. have been closed while emergency crews work to clear the incident.
Air 11 flew over the scene and captured an oversized truck carrying green spools pulled over to the side. It appears one of the spools may have hit the bridge, causing the closure.
No injuries have been reported.
You can check Houston Transtar for alternate routes or look on our traffic page.
This isn’t the first time a truck hit an overpass at this spot on the freeway.
Three years ago, KHOU 11 Investigates uncovered that trucks hitting the Houston Avenue bridge are such a big problem, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) started keeping a running total of the number of times it happens.
The bridge’s eastbound clearance is 14 feet, 3 inches – well below TxDOT’s current standard of 16 and a half feet. The bridge, though, was built in 1965, before those standards became the rule.
The fact that it keeps getting hit is something TxDOT says it’s concerned about.
The state plans to replace the bridge as part of the North Houston Highway Improvement Project, a rebuild of North Houston’s highway system. However, plans to revamp the bridge are not expected to happen for at least five more years, and TxDOT says, depending on funding, a replacement could take another decade.
Check back for updates.