Bridge approaches provide a smooth and safe transition of vehicles from highway pavements to bridge structures and vice versa. Settlement at the end of the bridge and highway pavements also known as a ‘bump’ in the roadway, causes not only inconvenience to passengers but also increases the maintenance and repairing work/costs to the highway agencies. In the United States, state Departments of Transportations (DOTs) have been spending over $100 million to alleviate the bump problems every year. Many researches had been carried out to study the causes of the bump problem and they are summarized in this paper. To identify factors leading to the bump problem in Texas, a survey questionnaire was send to all twenty five districts in Texas. In addition field investigations were conducted at bridges in Quanah, Arlington and Cleburne. Results from this study reveal that the subsurface void development, erosion and compressibility of fill material were found to be the main contributing factors to the bridge approach settlement in the State of Texas.