Yazoo Bridge opening seen in September ’09

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Opening of the new bridge across the Yazoo River remains a year away, although work picked back up through the summer after a delay due to spring flooding.

Placing the main deck is the final part of the $32.7 million project, but will take the remainder of contract time granted by the Mississippi Department of Transportation to Madison-based Key Constructors, District 3 Engineer Kevin Magee said.

“There are a few beams that have to be set,” Magee said. “But, our contractor is back on track after having to deal with the extended period of high water.”

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MDOT predicts the new bridge to be open in September 2009, three months later than the original target date.

The Yazoo is a major tributary of the Mississippi. Late-winter snow melts in the Midwest sent Mississippi River stages in Vicksburg to 50.9 feet by mid-April — the highest crest since 1973.

Vehicles needing a higher clearance than the existing bridge provides will find relief on the new span. The new design eliminates the overhead superstructure required for the old bridge — one of the region’s most scenic — when it opened in 1950.

The new bridge will have two 12-foot lanes and from side to side, the new structure will be 40 feet, which is 14 feet wider than the old one.

Removal of the old span also will involve redesigning approach lanes on U.S. 61 North. A stretch of highway leading to the bridge’s southbound lanes will be straightened, allowing traffic to flow onto the Yazoo’s south bank smoother. 

Closer to completion is a resurfacing of the hilly highway between Interstate 20 and Redwood. Crews have applied a new layer of asphalt and restriped much of the 9-mile stretch. Work on the federally-funded, $6 million effort is expected to be complete by the end of October.

Four-laning U.S. 61 through Mississippi is an ongoing effort stemming from the Vision 21 plan passed by state lawmakers in 2002. Depending on need, a second two-lane bridge could be built on the site of the existing bridge at some future date. For now, while most of U.S. 61 from the Louisiana line to Redwood is four-laned, much of the distance from the Yazoo bridge to the Tennessee line remains two-lane.