Wellborn Road at the intersection of Joe Routt and John Kimbrough Boulevards will be closed to through traffic part of the day Sunday, Sept. 23, according to a joint announcement by the Department of Parking, Traffic and Transportation Services (PTTS), the Texas Department of Transportation and the city of College Station.
The purpose of the closure is the removal of the pedestrian walkway- the “rainbow bridge” – that is constructed over Wellborn Road and the Union Pacific Railroad track at the intersection.The removal is part of the construction of an underground passageway that will replace the walkway when completed.
Both Wellborn Road and the Union Pacific track will be closed from George Bush Drive to Old Main Drive at about 11:30 a.m. and will remain closed for an estimated four hours to accommodate the walkway removal. Officials encourage individuals traveling in this vicinity to avoid Wellborn Road.
Texas Task Force-1 heads to New York to aid rescue efforts
Texas Task Force-1, the Urban Search and Rescue response team headquartered at Texas A&M University, arrived in New York City yesterday to begin aiding in rescue efforts at the World Trade Center.
The 62-member team consists of rescue experts, hazardous material specialists, structural engineers, canine search teams and medical personnel who will help locate survivors of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. The team is administered by A&M University System’s Texas Engineering Extension Service.
The task force left Austin-Bergstrom International Airport at 3:30 p.m. Monday aboard two Air Force C-141s and arrived at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey at 8:15 p.m. Eastern time. The team spent the night at Fort Dix in New Jersey and visited the World Trade Center site Tuesday before starting working Wednesday morning.
Search continues at collapsed bridge, fifth victim identified
PORT ISABEL, Texas (AP) – Sonar is now being used to probe the bottom of the Laguna Madre as state police divers search for three people and two vehicles still missing since the Queen Isabella Causeway to South Padre Island collapsed from a barge collision.
Five deaths have been confirmed so far from the weekend collapse, and five vehicles have been retrieved. A sixth, unoccupied, vehicle was visible but trapped in sunken chunks of roadway.
One of the two vehicles retrieved Tuesday contained the body of 32-year-old Hector Martinez of Port Isabel, the fifth of the known victims, said Trooper Adrian Rivera, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman.
State troopers had earlier identified as victims Port Isabel Fire Chief Robert Harris, 46; Stvan Rivas, 22; Robin Leavell, 29; and Giaspar Hinojosa.
“We’re using the best available equipment that we have,” said Coast Guard spokesman Patrick Culver.
Coast Guard crews in boats and helicopters have panned the area to no avail, concentrating on the north where currents tend to flow. The search was to resume Wednesday morning.
Culver, asked how far the vehicles could have drifted from the site, said, ”In my experience anything is possible. They could be drifting both ways.”
The barge wreck closed the only bridge to the South Padre Island resort that has become a vacation destination for Texas residents as well as midwestern college students, ”Winter Texans” from northern states and Mexican nationals.
