As many of you know, the Interstate-10 bridge crossing of the Brazos River is a convenient, albeit difficult, location for a put-in or take-out.  It's a great stopping point for a trip starting upstream at San Felipe, or as a starting point for a trip going downstream to Wallis/Simonton. 

The Texas Department of Transportation is currently doing construction work on these bridges, adding a new third span to increase the number of lanes from four to six to reduce traffic congestion. The frontage roads will still be two lanes on each side, but will be one-way only instead of bi-directional. Because of this construction, the usual canoe launch area on the west bank is no longer a viable option. Construction equipment has taken over most of the west bank, and you can no longer get behind the guardrail to park. The grassy area across the street has been churned into deep mud, so you can't really park there either.

Just getting to the location is now more complicated.  As you head west on I-10, you can still exit just after crossing the bridge, however the frontage road is no longer bi-directional - it's one lane only going west. You can only go further west, and cannot double back towards the river.  So, to get underneath the bridge, you now have to drive 2.3 miles west to Bartlett/Mlcak Road, cross over I-10 there, then double back on the eastbound side frontage road.  That will get you there, but then you're still facing no place to park.  (It's called Bartlett on the north side, and Mlcak on the south side.)

And to complicate access even further, the FM-1458 bridge over I-10, the San Felipe Road which is 4.5 miles west from the river, has been demolished and will be re-built to increase the height clearance. So, you can't turn around there either. If you missed the Mlcak Road exit, you now have to drive an additional 3 miles to Sealy before you can turn around.  If you're keeping a tally, that's 7 miles from the river before you can turn around.  So, don't miss the Mlcak Road cross-over.

The big picture (click to enlarge)		The FM-1458 bridge  over I-10, from the north looking south		Close-up picture

The construction under the Brazos bridge has carved out a very nice slope down to the water that would make a great boat ramp. However, this is going to be used for construction, and I'm sure they wouldn't want interlopers there.  They have a cute little barge they'll be sliding down that ramp into the water, to ferry workers, tools and materials back and forth across the river to work on both sides.  They won't want us getting in the way.  And it will be hazardous because of the presence of moving heavy equipment, and things falling down from overhead.

I visited the location first-hand to see if it was feasible to co-exist with the construction. My conclusion is that it is not. I chatted with a construction foreman, who didn't seem concerned with me walking around, and he says the work here will last three years.  Ugh.  It's also costing $317 million. And after just a few minutes, I had to move my truck because where I was parked in the dirt off the side of the road, was used as a gravel dumping area by large trucks.  

West side, new ramp between existing road bridges		New ramp between north road bridge and railroad bridge, with new footings going in		Cute barge for cross-river transport

The east side of the river bridge area is also a construction zone. There is what looks like a possible take-out on the southeast side of the bridge on Seidel Road at a pipeline cut, but that would still mean that boats would have to travel through the construction zone to get to it, and the area is fenced off and gated. Elsewhere along Seidel Rd. the banks are very high and steep.

East side, looking west		Road bridge, old surface removed

What we really need is a take-out on the north side, just short of the bridge, so that we could do our take-out before getting to construction zone. That way we could make the same trips from San Felipe, and not interfere with or be impeded by the construction. But those riverbanks are private property with no vehicle access. There is an oil well on the east bank at the sand bar just prior to the bridge, with a service road going to the well, but that is probably a restricted access area.

You can click here to see the aerial view of the site, to explore the situation and possibilities for yourself. 

In my opinion, it looks like we're just going to have to kiss this access point goodbye for quite a while.  I'm going to miss it.

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The author, John Rich