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Surrey Street Bridge Repairs Begin

May 07, 2018 04:07PM ● By Savannah Ludwig

After months of delays to repair the Surrey Street Bridge following an emergency closure after officials discovered corroded bearings that support the steel beams under the structure, construction is now underway.  

The bridge was closed suddenly to motorists Oct. 25 after the state Department of Transportation and Development found the structural inefficiency. The report found that one of eight bearings that support the structure had failed and another was in danger of failing. The bridge was closed over fear that heavy truck traffic could cause the bridge to drop, the deck to fracture and the bridge to collapse.

Alison Lognion, planning director for the project, said the project was deferred from its original start date at the beginning of June as contractors with Gibson and Associates from Balch Springs, Texas, prepared for the travel and assembly related to the project. Construction began April 17.

Lognion said she was unable to give details on the project’s timeline; however, she said the delayed start date should not be pushed back from its August completion date. However, she said, inclement weather could stall completion.

Mark Dubroc, public works director for LCG, said in 2017 officials were “very taken aback” by the 2017 state findings. The reports in previous years, which alternate between the city-parish and the state, showed only signs of light rust in previous years.

He said the floods of August 2016 were the only logical reason for the bridge’s progression.

A new bridge would have cost $3 million and require two years of construction, according to Mark Dubroc, LCG public works director, said to city-parish councilman William Theriot.

Dubroc said in earlier media reports that the repairs are expected to keep the bridge in operating condition for three decades.