Construction Updates On Bridge & Hwy 159

Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) says the old Business 71 truss bridge in La Grange should reopen to traffic before the end of the year. The old bridge had been closed to traffic since March of 2023. Workers removed the old deck, refurbished and painted the metal structure, and built a new deck.

“The roadway leading up to both sides of the Truss bridge still needs to be rebuilt and the several hundred feet of railing still needs to be installed,” said TxDOT spokesperson Lucea’n Kuykendall.

Kuykendall said the old bridge should reopen in about four to six weeks. Once in final configuration, each bridge will carry one-way traffic. The new bridge, which was completed in 2023, will carry eastbound traffic. The old bridge will carry westbound traffic. According to TxDOT, The main reason for this was that the old truss bridge was too narrow to meet current design standards for two lanes of traffic. The two bridges also allow for redundancy and allowed TxDOT to keep Business 71 open during construction.

In other road construction news, the SH 159 project from SH 237 to Business 71 is nearing completion.

“All that remains is miscellaneous work items (rumble strips, final striping, etc.) that should be completed within the next couple of weeks,” Kuykendall said.

The SH 159 Bridge at Rocky Creek project is currently under construction.

“The Contractor is currently working on Phase 1 of the proposed bridge/ roadway,” Kuykendall said. “Phase 1 should be complete in the Spring of 2026. Traffic will then be shifted onto the Phase 1 proposed bridge/ roadway while the Contractor builds the Phase 2 portion of the remaining proposed bridge/roadway.”

The project is anticipated to be complete in the Fall of 2026.