00:00Good morning. My name is Alvin New and I'm the acting chairman for the Texas
00:08Transportation Commission and I want to welcome you all here for what is a an
00:12amazing event. What I want to mostly do initially is say that the teamwork that
00:18takes place when something like this happens is unbelievable. So we got
00:24bridge spans from one of the districts that was about to do a project so that
00:28we could get this project finished so there was a district Yoakam district
00:32that was part of this the Austin district really made everything happen
00:36from our perspective to make this happen and Hunter Industries really knocked the
00:40ball out of the park doing a good job getting this done in a in a really quick
00:44time so if you look at this bridge if you can see this photo here behind executive
00:50director Williams you see this this bridge was gone so and then you see that
00:55roughly a month later this bridge is the bridge that you're standing on or that
00:59you're seeing right now what you may not know is that this bridge is taller wider
01:03and better built and so it's it is setting us up for a better future what it
01:09makes you feel if you're me is what it means to be a Texan Texans are incredible
01:15people and they make things happen and I'm really proud to be part of the
01:18Transportation Commission in the Tex-Dot family while we make this happen and
01:22it is my pleasure to lead to introduce you to the leader of the state of Texas
01:27Governor Greg Abbott
01:29let me start by thanking Alvin New and his service on the Texas Transportation
01:39Commission leading the way for Tex-Dot to help make sure we got projects like
01:44this completed also want to recognize several other people who are with us here
01:48today who in part played a role in this we have Commissioner Steve Alves who's with
01:54us we have Mark Williams the executive director who I talked to about come back
02:00to him more later we have Tucker Ferguson the Austin district engineer Jay Payne
02:06chief counsel for the federal highway administration and we have a hundred
02:11industries that was the construction team that got this project completed so as
02:17as is Alvin was noting this is really an amazing feat so it's an extraordinary
02:24success to know that this bridge was eliminated it did not exist a month ago and
02:32in just a short month period of time they were able to put together the pieces and
02:39finish the construction of getting this bridge completed I was talking to Mark
02:44Williams to ask if he was aware of any project like this being done this fast
02:49ever in the history of Texas he said nope he'd never seen it happen before this is
02:54what Texas is all about we get things done and as Alvin new was pointing out
03:00listen this is very very important not just that we got it done but it's bigger
03:05wider taller and better than what the bridge was before this got done ultimately
03:10there's there's one thing about bridges there's one thing about roads and that
03:16is it connects communities it connects people and because this bridge that was
03:23decimated by the worst flooding episode the state has ever had was completed so
03:28quickly it will ensure that we will reconnect the people reconnect the
03:33communities and get things back to normal for all the people who were affected by
03:38this process so a very big thank you to the Texas Department of Transportation to
03:44Hunter Industries to everybody had a role in getting this done and one thing that
03:50we know the people who got it done then other people wearing suits right now the
03:56people who got it done or the men and women around us who are wearing hard hats
04:00they're wearing the vest give it up for all the hard workers who toiled to get this
04:05across the finish line and at this time I think I'm handing it off to mr. pain to
04:16Jay pain all right this is a very impressive achievement today I started
04:30studying civil engineering almost 20 years ago and I never thought you could build a
04:34bridge in 28 days and this speed this has national interest which is why I'm
04:40here from Washington DC representing President Trump and Secretary Duffy I
04:44have a couple remarks to share our sincere interest and appreciation and
04:49hopefully more awareness to what can be done with this level of collaboration
04:53with federal state local and private sector partners to deliver projects
04:58faster better cheaper more efficiently before I begin I want to acknowledge the
05:05recent passing of chairman Bruce bug his passion for infrastructure and
05:09transportation was immediately apparent and I will always remember his
05:15dedication to a shared passion for the Department of Transportation and I
05:20couldn't leave these remarks without acknowledging to some extent on behalf of
05:27US Transportation Secretary Duffy and the Federal Highway Administration thank you for
05:32inviting us to participate and celebrate this strong federal and state partnership I
05:37also like to take a moment to reflect on why we are all here on July 4th I was with my
05:44family in Washington DC watching the news unfold watching the storms impact this
05:50community when Americans were celebrating their country and freedom I was
05:54watches watching devastating storms and floods which tore across Texas these
06:00damaged families and loved ones as well as our roads and bridges including the
06:05Cowl Creek Bridge thank you to President Trump's leadership the
06:10administration responded quickly to support Governor Abbott and his team
06:13rebuild these affected communities Governor Abbott's leadership and
06:18dedication to this recovery and rebuilding is remarkable including the
06:22expedited restoration of this vital bridge the Cowl Creek Bridge served this
06:31area since 1960 was in good condition prior to the weather events and washed away
06:36from the flooding it was both a major thoroughfare in a vital
06:41connection between Lago Vista and Marble Falls the loss of this bridge severed
06:47connections to work health care students who commuted to the Marble Falls
06:51Independent School District and added approximately 45 minutes to their
06:55average commutes with schools preparing to reopen we at the Federal Highway knew we
07:01had to step in and support the expedited delivery of this project the US DOT worked
07:08with Texas DOT in the wake of the flooding to help them rebuild this bridge
07:14Federal Highway shared Texas DOT's goal to expedite construction to build a new
07:18bridge and have it up and running before the start of the new academic school year
07:24upon completion Federal Highway plans to help fund this reconstruction via the
07:29emergency relief reimbursement request to support this effort Federal Highway
07:33conducted site visits with Texas DOT staff assessed roadway damages and helped document those
07:40damages to provide technical assistance to help ensure the expenses were federally
07:46reimbursable and accelerate bridge construction by providing expertise on how to
07:51stage construction how to use materials that allow for the accelerated concrete curing techniques
07:57and the use of precast cylinder piles thanks to these combined efforts Texas DOT and Federal Highway are
08:06now proud to reopen this bridge after 45 days of our first boots on the ground experience while we must
08:13prioritize responding to emergencies USDOT and Federal Highway is also focused on ensuring that
08:19America is building again which is why we need a transportation bill that provides the necessary funding the surface
08:27transportation reauthorization effort currently in Washington DC as a once in a five-year
08:32opportunity to provide the funding and priorities to revolutionize US transportation we must ensure
08:39predictable and reliable funding by enacting a long-term multi-year bill that will help states respond to
08:46emergency events like the destruction of Cow Creek Bridge we are at the dawn of a new day of surface
08:54transportation the department is focused on enhancing safety modernizing America's infrastructure promoting
09:01economic growth and streamlining federal processes we share a common interest ensuring that our nation's
09:08transportation system is robust and the envy of the world I look forward to our continued collaboration
09:13collaboration and under the Trump administration America's building again and we are building big beautiful roads and bridges today successful opening in Cow Creek Bridge is evidence of achieving these shared goals thank you very much and Commissioner Steve
09:30I also want to recognize one of the person who is here my favorite senator the senator in whose district we are in and that is Senator Donna Campbell
09:46thank you governor thank everybody for being here you know this is wasn't built just overnight with your leadership your choice of commissioners the people all of you with your hard hats and orange vests you didn't just learn how to build a bridge and come together
10:16we've got a great commission we miss a great man Bruce bug and we already knew the quality the hunter industries and the quickness by which you could perform and we thank you for that
10:28for that while this bridge advances us forward and connects Lago Vista and Marble Falls symbolically it advances us not to forget the tragedy but to move forward setting plans in place to hope this tragedy never happens again anywhere in the state of Texas thank you thank you governor for the work that you do
10:52thank you so my senator that commissioner Steve Alvis thank you
10:59thank you chief counsel pain and senator Campbell thank you for being here and thank you governor I tell you every weather tragedy event we've had in Texas our late chairman bug who started this project would say to us it's time for team Texans to
11:21to kick in and you let team Texas thank you governor it's impressive and I appreciate Tucker Ferguson being here he's our district engineer that made this happen thank you Tucker
11:34thank you Tucker Mark Williams we couldn't have done it without you breaking all the barriers thank you let me tell you there's two engineers here in particular the engineering plans on this bridge were built in thirteen
11:50thirteen days start to finish full engineering drawings
11:55Mattaba Rajabar and Thomas Chinsabot are you here there they are thank you that's got to be a record you know take them around the country I'm sure governor Newsom could learn a few things from them
12:13johnny called and told me those two gentlemen were here non-stop and made lots of in the field changes johnny was beaming with pride and johnny weissman hunter industries I know you woke up every morning about one o'clock and came here thank you
12:28it's now my pleasure to introduce mark williams our leader at the commission and text dot he became executive director in 2021 five years prior to that he was deputy executive director and let me tell you marks had three decades of public and private transportation experience it's my pleasure to serve with you mark williams
12:31thank you commissioner
12:42thank you commissioner
12:58Thank you, Commissioner. Thank you, Governor, for being out here today. You know, it was on July 5th that this bridge was destroyed. July 6th, I remember we were in a meeting with you, Governor, and you gave us a very clear message to expedite this.
13:18I'm kind of being a little subtle. I think it was a little stronger than that. But we understood the mission. And it is just with tremendous pride that we are here today, not only pride for TxDOT, pride as well for our contracting partners and all of the men and women that made this happen.
13:36And, Jay, we appreciate the partnership with Federal Highway Administration, USDOT, Ed Ofori, with our division office here in Texas, had a chance to show the secretary a picture of this bridge and told him, I think we could get this done in under two months.
13:53And he was impressed with that now. And now he can deliver the message that we beat it by a whole month. And it is really a testimony to the teamwork that went into this.
14:04And ultimately, this is, though, is not only a source of pride for the Texas Department of Transportation and the state of Texas, but it's really a return gift back to the communities that this serves.
14:15And we've got our partners from Lago Vista and Marble Falls here, the EMS teams that were part of this, the volunteer fire department that lost their chief is here today.
14:27They're going to be one of the first to drive across this bridge. And we feel like that there's no better representation of somebody to be the first to drive across the bridge than those first responders that had such a very difficult task on the day of July 5th when waters impacted this location here in Texas.
14:43And so it is truly an honor to be here to just really celebrate this event and to recognize all of the people that made this happen.
14:52And as we do this and as we get ready, we're going to get ready to cut the ribbon. And I need to wrap it up. It's hot. But just for context, these men and women have been out here working 12-hour shifts.
15:03So 24 hours a day, 12-hour shifts, seven days a week. And Johnny's been out here with us. So Johnny will say, let me tell you about hot.
15:11So we understand. And a lot of work went into it, a lot of sweat. And this is the result. We want to celebrate it with them.
15:19So we're going to move back and we're going to do a ribbon cutting. But as we do, all the men and women that were part of this, if you all can make your way back here and join us so we can get a drone shot with everybody that's been part of this.
15:31Let's line up here to cut the ribbon.
15:41The dignitaries are staying here. And folks, orange, lime, green behind them.
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