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The trailer, which belongs to A-1 Wrecker, was traveling on Harvey Road under the Highway 6 overpass, when a backhoe on the trailer struck the overpass and damaged the support beams, according to the release. The Texas Department of Transportation said the underpass of Harvey Road will reopen Monday night, but the southbound University (FM 60) entrance ramp will be closed for a minimum of one week.
Amy Ramirez, a sophomore Blinn student who lives on Harvey Road, said she waited longer than usual to exit Highway 6 Monday.
"There was a long line getting off the highway and turning onto Harvey Road," Ramirez said. "But they had a bunch of cops controlling traffic so it was still moving smoothly."
She said the highway was much worse around prime traffic hours, and people were waiting in long lines to get onto the highway.
The Texas Department of Transportation recommends motorists use Harvey Mitchell Parkway as an alternate north/south route and University Drive as an alternate east/west route while the lanes are closed.
Megan Garner, a junior math major who works at Post Oak Mall, said she doesn't think the accident will slow down business at the mall.
"The road being closed isn't going to keep people from going to the mall," Garner said. "They'll just go other ways."
Travis Lagnese, a sophomore computer engineering major and Harvey Road resident, agrees that businesses around the highway will not suffer because of the accident.
"It will be a pain because Sam's Club and the movie theater and the mall are over there, but people will still want to go to those places, so they will find a way to get there," Lagnese said.
The motorist, 52-year-old Willie Bowser, was not injured, police said, but the Caldwell resident was issued a citation because the height of his trailer was taller than the bridge, which is a violation of the Texas Transportation Code.
The Texas Department of Transportation is working on an emergency contract to get the bridge repaired as soon as possible.
