The Texas Department of Transportation shared the status of the Harbor Bridge project with state lawmakers during a hearing of the Texas House Transportation Committee on Oct. 6 at the Solomon P. Ortiz International Center, which is near the construction site.
TxDOT ordered bridge developer Flatiron/Dragados to suspend work on the span in July, citing safety concerns. Local leaders have since expressed their displeasure with TxDOT for its lack of transparency on several occasions.
At the status meeting, questions focused on the design-build process, when the state agency began having concerns about the project, and if such concerns could have been addressed earlier. 
“Lessons were learned” from the Harbor Bridge project, said TxDOT Executive Director Marc D. Williams. Those lessons should help with reviews of similar projects, which will have more oversight going forward
The agency did not indicate when work on the bridge would resume. Construction is already several years behind schedule.
The project broke ground in 2016 after receiving approval from the Federal Highway Administration. At the time, officials expected the bridge to be finished by 2021. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and the dismissal of a major subcontractor pushed the completion date to 2024. Thus far, TxDOT has not offered a revised timeline. 
Flatiron-Dragados, which has received $786 million from TxDOT for its work, has advised the state that it would remedy design issues at no expense to taxpayers. In addition, the state agency declared that local governments would not be financially responsible for delay-related costs.
chuck@thepicayune.com