VIDEO: Final round of Causeway barrier tests ends

A full size pickup is most likely to jump the current Causeway Bridge rails. (Source: Texas A&M... — A full size pickup is most likely to jump the current Causeway Bridge rails. (Source: Texas A&M University and Texas A&M Transportation Institute)

COLLEGE STATION, TX (WVUE) - Texas engineers have wrapped up the final phase of Causeway Bridge barrier tests, which could save lives.

Now, bridge managers have to figure out how much it would cost and whether to raise tolls.

For nearly a year, engineers with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute have been slamming trucks weighing up to ten tons into a mockup of a Causeway Bridge rail near College Station, TX.

The images are dramatic and from every angle. A full size four door pickup truck, the type that is most likely to jump over current rails just 25" high, is slammed into a new 42" high rail designed by Texas A&M.

From above, you can see that the truck, moving at 62 miles per hour, barely moves the rail.

This is the third and final round of barrier testing. Engineers say it could set the stage for one of the biggest bridge retrofits in the world.

Texas A&M will now start putting a price tag on the barrier options to present to the Causeway Commission. The commission hopes to have some cost estimates ready for the public in early summer.

Mobile viewers can watch the videos here:

https://youtu.be/tdTIHRuryS8

https://youtu.be/F4rYWFMvluc

https://youtu.be/6wbL4rAl98E

https://youtu.be/q6IDXoNL2Yk