SAN ANTONIO — Plans are underway to fix a crumbled bridge wall over Palo Alto Road.
The small section of I-35 north broke into pieces, one of which nearly missed hitting a woman as she was walking on the sidewalk below.
Barbara Silguero posted about the close call on a community Facebook page.
She wrote, "I was walking under it and I thought someone was throwing stuff at me from the top of the bridge, but when I looked up another piece of concrete fell by my feet. I called 911."
Many commenters warned others who live in the area to be careful when driving under the bridge at I-35 and Palo Alto.
A spokeswoman with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) says the agency is aware of the crumbling bridge wall. Since it doesn't affect the integrity of the main lanes of I-35 north, the highway is remaining open and is safe for drivers to use.
However, to protect drivers from falling debris, TxDOT closed the turnaround lane at I-35 and Palo Alto. The agency set out barriers on the road and along the sidewalk to protect pedestrians as well.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the wall was broken on both sides. Some pieces of the concrete were barely hanging on.
Thursday afternoon, a large pile of new debris fell on the turnaround lane. The entire section of damaged wall fell to the ground, leaving only metal.
Kailee Reyes and Allison Ramirez walk under I-35 on Palo Alto every day. They tell KENS 5 this falling concrete convinced them to take a small detour walking home from school.
"[I'll] walk as far away on the sidewalk as possible from the actual damage," said Reyes. "I'm worried for the people under like us crossing every day."
Ramirez believes an 18-wheeler that crashed in late March smashed into the wall, causing it to crumble.
"I saw cops and an 18-wheeler parked on the side," she recalled. "There were cops surrounding the freeway and they put those caution papers across the freeway so nobody would be able to pass."
District 4 Councilwoman, Dr. Adriana Rocha Garcia, presides over this area.
"People are on the edge sometimes about things. We saw the Baltimore bridge collapse last week, so I feel we should stay ahead of things as much as possible," said Rocha Garcia.
Rocha Garcia says while damage to a highway bridge isn't a city issue, she still nudged the people in power to fix the problem.
"We reached out to our State Representative, Philip Cortez, to see if he could help us expedite things," said Rocha Garcia.
Garcia also alerted TxDOT.
Right now, TxDOT is waiting on their area office to set a timeline for when the bridge will be fixed. Once that's complete, the turnaround will reopen.