Crack found in Clear Lake-area bridge

Uh, so if you drive along Nasa Road 1 on a regular basis, you might want to watch out for this: A bridge is shifting, causing a crack and a 3.5-inch drop in the middle of the roadway, according to KHOU. Channel 11 learned about the problem from a viewer, and when the camera crews went to Clear Lake to check it out, sure enough, there was a crack. But don't worry: TxDOT is on the job. (Maybe you should worry after all.)

Engineers have been watching for a year or so and now TxDOT is funding a study.

"We can examine what is going on. See the settlement, measure the rate and also determine the best remedy for the correction," said Norm Wiggington with TxDOT.

Just for the study, it's about $100,000.

To replace the bridge, if that's necessary, would be at least another $2 million.

TxDOT expects a preliminary conclusion by the end of summer.

Maybe Wigington can use that extra G that KHOU stuck in his name to prop the bridge up. What's unusual about the shifting bridge is that the structure is just six years old, so we'd expect it wouldn't be having foundation problems yet. Area residents and business owners are hoping the bridge doesn't have to be rebuilt — NASA 1 is a mess even without the ever-present construction — but we're sure they would rather have a new bridge than an old bridge in pieces.