Built for 50-year storms, Kingsland bridge lasted 49 years
Built in 1969 and designed to withstand a 50-year storm, the two-lane causeway in Kingsland that succumbed to a raging Llano River was the third Central Texas bridge to be destroyed by floodwaters in recent years.
Experts say it likely won’t be the last as climate change and construction exacerbate the natural factors that led meteorologists to name the Hill Country “flash flood alley.”
With more than 53,000 bridges, Texas has more than any other state, and many were built in the mid-20th century based on federal weather data from the 1950s. Intense rain events are now more common, and rapid exurban development has created more impervious cover, leading to more runoff.
“It’s inevitable that we will see more major bridge damage in the future, likely sooner rather than later,” said Bruce Melton, an Austin-based civil engineer and founder of the nonprofit Climate Change Now Initiative. “The 100-year storm is now the 25-year storm in Austin.”
Read more: https://www.statesman.com/news/20181016/built-for-50-year-storms-kingsland-bridge-lasted-49-years
