Bridge workers have found a home in city
Published 12:00 am Monday, July 7, 2003
Texas Bridge Inc. employee Margarito Romero stands inside the super structure of the Interstate 20 Mississippi River Bridge, where he has helped supervise the painting of the bridge for the past two years.(Chad Applebaum The Vicksburg Post)
[7/7//03]Margarito Romero and his family moved to Vicksburg more than two years ago from Houston, Texas, for him to begin work on reconditioning the Interstate 20 bridge over the Mississippi River.
Now, he, his wife and four children, ages 4 to 10, are looking at winding up work here and moving home.
He will miss the “nice people” of Vicksburg, where he and his family have lived on Washington Street and his children have been in public schools.
Romero and 17 other members of his crew are believed to have pumped about $2.5 million into the Vicksburg economy, Texas Bridge owner Spiro Kollias said.
Work on the 30-year-old bridge mostly sanding and painting is expected to wind down in late September or early October, said Texas Bridge Inc. crew supervisor David Oman.
The last stage of painting is expected in late August or early September, when the crew will touch up the yellow spots of primer, painting them “Louisiana gray” like the rest of the bridge.
The $11.1 million price tag is being paid for by the Federal Highway Administration, which will pay 80 percent, and the Louisiana and Mississippi departments of transportation, each paying 10 percent.
Romero, a foreman for the bridge reconditioning crew, said his family will be sad to leave the “the good schools” where his children have “learned much English.”
Like most of his crew, Romero is Hispanic. Only three of the 22 crew members are originally from Vicksburg.
Texas Bridge Inc. was awarded the painting and reconditioning contract in June 2001, and it arranges workers’ housing.
Because most of the workers bring their families, Texas Bridge also helps integrate the children into the public school system, said Kollias.
The reconditioning contract was originally slated for three years, but is “about 180 days ahead of schedule,” Oman said.
The crew works 10 hours day “six and sometimes seven days a week,” Oman said. Kollias said the crew is working such long hours in an attempt to complete the job sooner, meaning the outside eastbound lane, which has been closed throughout the project, can be reopened and alleviate some of the traffic congestion it has caused.
The reconditioning project began with the removal of the former green lead-based paint that used to cover the bridge.
Precautionary measures, such as tarps to catch dust and paint chips, ensure the safety of the crews against the lead paint. All of the equipment is new.
Though the crew climbs scaffolding and works with heavy equipment, few injuries have occurred. It’s been “mostly bumps and bruises,” Oman said. Kollias also said the accidents have been minor.
“We take care of ourselves,” he said.
Oman said he believes traffic has increased since summer began, but he has seen fewer car accidents than last year.
The I-20 bridge originally cost $30 million and was completed in 1973. This is the first time it has been reconditioned.