HOUSTON — The first half of the $1.3 billion Dr. Richard A. Tapia Bridge is expected to open in spring 2027 with traffic traveling in both directions, while Harris County officials expect the second half to open by the end of 2030.
Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia announced the timeline Thursday during his annual State of the Precinct address, where he highlighted the bridge as one of the county’s major infrastructure projects.
The bridge will carry the Sam Houston Tollway over the Houston Ship Channel between Highway 225 and Interstate 10. About 55,000 vehicles currently use the crossing each day, and Harris County Toll Road Authority officials have estimated that traffic could eventually reach 160,000 vehicles daily.
The first half will maintain the current number of traffic lanes while adding shoulders that can give disabled vehicles a place to move out of active traffic lanes.
“Once the first half is complete, it will still feature the same number of lanes that we’re currently using, but you’ll have a shoulder in case the car in front of you breaks down,” Garcia said.
The completed bridge will feature four 12-foot travel lanes in each direction, 10-foot inside and outside safety shoulders and support columns positioned outside the Ship Channel’s waterway.
The design will also provide more space for larger ships using the Houston Ship Channel. County records have identified the existing bridge’s main piers as an obstacle to plans to widen and deepen the channel.
The Harris County Commissioners Court voted unanimously in March to rename the bridge after Richard Tapia, a longtime Rice University mathematician, educator and STEM advocate who died in May at 88.
Construction on the main bridge began in March 2018. The project initially carried a $1.3 billion budget and had a planned 2028 completion date. Harris County records later placed the estimated total cost at about $1.45 billion after commissioners approved an additional $390.3 million in 2021.
Garcia said the bridge will improve connections within Precinct 2 while supporting traffic and freight movement through the region.