I-20 River Bridge closures to begin Monday Jan. 20

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development is starting its $27.7 million Interstate 20 bridge project on Monday, Jan. 20.

From Jan. 20 through Friday, May 15, 2020, westbound lanes of Interstate 20 across the Mississippi River Bridge at Vicksburg will experience lane closures, allowing contractors to resurface the roadway, install new lighting and make structural repairs to the bridge.

Throughout the project, the construction will restrict vehicles to the following maximum widths:

• 10-foot maximum width with the following exception:
• 16-foot maximum width Fridays 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

No formal detours have been established for this work.

LDOTD appreciates your patience and reminds you to please drive with caution through the construction site and to be on the lookout for work crews and their equipment.

“Ensuring these integral crossings over the Mississippi River are properly maintained and modernized is crucial to growing the state’s economy,” said LDOTD Secretary Shawn D. Wilson, Ph.D. in a statement. “This project will extend the service life of this bridge for decades to come, an example of strategically investing in our existing infrastructure with our available funding and maximizing the use of those dollars.”

Built in 1973, the two-mile-long I-20 bridge connects Madison Parish, La., to Warren County, Miss., and provides one of the few interstate roadway crossings over the river.

The nearly 50-year-old bridge will receive a facelift and modern structural improvements.

The old deck will be resurfaced with new concrete to improve traction and preserve the structural aspects of the bridge flooring. The current electrical circuits will be replaced, in addition to the replacement of nearly 100 roadway lighting fixtures with a modern LED system.

Roadway fiber optics will also be replaced with new cameras and radar, which will integrate the system into Mississippi’s IT network.

Additionally, the steel structural connections at certain locations on the bridge will be modified to improve resilience against all loads and conditions.

New navigational lighting and aerial beacons will also be installed, along with improvements to the bridge monitoring system and enhancements to the inspection access walkways.

During construction, single-lane closures will be required, though there will be no lane closures conducted in both directions at the same time in order to maintain traffic flow as much as possible.

LDTOD anticipates work on the project to wrap up in early 2021, with progress dependent on weather conditions.