The Vicksburg National Military Park has closed Navy Circle and Louisiana Circle off Washington Street for safety precautions, park superintendent Bill Justice said.

He said Navy Circle, which is near the Mississippi Welcome Center and overlooks the Mississippi River, will be closed to all traffic for about eight weeks while contractors work to repair an erosion problem affecting the old U.S. 80 bridge.

“The erosion is on bridge property below the park property,” Justice said. “The bridge commission asked if we would close Navy Circle as a precaution so the contractor can make the repairs.”

He said Louisiana Circle, another river overlook near Riverfront Park, is closed because of a soil problem that is threatening the roadbed. He said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is doing geotechnical surveys to determine the problem and the solution.

He said a similar soil problem has caused park officials to close a section of Confederate Avenue in the Park. He said the Corps is also doing tests on the soil under the road bed.

For information about the park road closures, people can call the National Park Service at 601-636-0583.