Construction will soon begin to repair the Old West Point Bridge.
The Mississippi Department of Transportation will soon be accepting bids to repair the Old West Point Bridge from a May incident where an 18-wheeler collided with the overpass.
James McDonald, a district engineer with MDOT, stated the project will take approximately two months. According to McDonald, even though the bottom of the bridge was damaged, contractors will have to work from the top down to repair the damage.
Two beams were damaged in the accident and contractors will first have to remove the concrete bridge deck and handrail to reach the beams. Once the damaged beams are replaced, concrete will again be poured to recreate the bridge deck and handrail.
With a vehicle count of 28,000 cars that travel along Highway 82, the May 4 accident backed up traffic for hours.
MDOT declined to release an estimated cost for the project before it has been officially announced for bid. The bid date is set for August 28 and will be open for one month.
Sarah Fowler covered crime, education and community related events for The Dispatch.
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