Travelers heading to Columbus on Highway 82 East will be detoured Sunday through West Point as repairs continue on the Old West Point Road Bridge.
The eastbound lanes will close beginning at 6 a.m. Sunday from the Old Slush Creek Bridge at the Macon exit and the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway Bridge just west of the exit to Downtown Columbus. The lanes will reopen by 5 a.m. Monday.
Westbound lanes will remain open.
Traffic coming into the city during this period will be detoured into West Point on Highway 45 Alternate, onto Highway 50 east and Highway 45 North and back to Highway 82 East past the construction work.
The eastbound lanes closed in December to allow Key Constructors LLC to remove a damaged portion of the Old West Point Road Bridge. Work planned for Sunday will start the process of replacing that piece, Field Engineer Browning Bergold told The Dispatch.
“There will be four concrete beams that we have to set using a crane,” he said. “… Then we’ll have to go back once the beams are set, put bottom forms on and … pour the actual concrete deck.”
The bridge has been closed since October 2024, when the overpass was hit by an 18-wheeler carrying an excavator, marking the fourth time the bridge has been hit since 1994. Repairs slated for the bridge include a 10-inch lift intended to mitigate the issue.
Sunday’s efforts will not complete bridge repairs, Bergold said, but it will be the last time a two-lane closure is needed.
“After this weekend, we shouldn’t have to shut the road down again; should just be single-lane closures,” he said.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
