"You have to be extra careful going across it, especially in the icy weather," said Sheila Murray of Northeast El Paso.

But what drivers don't see typically lies beneath the overpass. The columns and beams that keep the bridge up are inspected annually. During the last inspection in December 2006, city engineers and the Texas Department of Transportation noted some of the beams and columns closer to Marshall Road had started crumbling or had cracks.

"Right now it's (beams and columns) concrete on concrete. That's not an ideal situation because it's not really softening the load," said Sam Rodriguez, city engineering department.

Rodriguez said the vibration and age of the bridge could be taking a toll on the structure. He said several bearing pads beneath the overpass that absorb the impacts had slipped out. KFOX saw another one on the brink of falling.

The way Rodriguez explained it, the bearing pads work as the shocks for the bridge.

"It could get to the point where the bridge becomes unsafe, but at this point we're early enough in what's happening that we're able to be proactive and fix it," said Rodriguez.

"You wouldn't really know, you just kind of trust it," said Murray.

On any given day, traffic along the Fred Wilson overpass is heavy, and much of it is cement trucks carrying loads of thousands of pounds.

The city has placed barrels on the outer lanes to keep traffic off of it. They hope it will prevent more cracks from forming.

City engineers said they are in the planning phase of fixing the problem. Repairs will be made over a weekend in late August and will not affect traffic.

Rodriguez said the project will cost $257,000.