Update on I-55 bridge shut-down

Update on I-55 bridge shut-down

Closure plans still on the table, but project suspended for study

news@theeveningtimes.com

There was one old business item on the West Memphis Metropolitan Planning Organization agenda that everyone wanted to know about — one that just won’t go away — the closure of the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge (commonly known as the “Old Bridge”) on Interstate 55 for construction of an interchange at Crump Boulevard in Memphis.

There has been no news for a year after the Tennessee Department of Transportation was sent back to the drawing board for a revised environmental impact assessment that would account for East Arkansas economic impact.

West Memphis MPO Study Director Eddie Brawley announced a suspension of the project at a joint meeting of the technical and policy committee meeting.

“The project has been suspended for nine months to a year,” said Brawley.

The traffic counts submitted with the plan were a decade old and failed to satisfy planning requirements, he said.

“They are still trying to get updated traffic model projections,” said Brawley.

“The Memphis MPO is now advertising for consultants to update their model to get more up-todate data.” “They are going to have to go back and do some more updates on it,” said Ed Cain with the City of Marion.

Brawley emphasized that the call for new numbers would not change road closure plans but definitely pushed the whole project off for another year or two.

Construction had initially been slated for 2017 but feedback from public information meetings sent planners back to consider impact on Arkansas and Interstate trucking. Under the original plans I-55 would be closed to trucking and diverted to I-40 for up to two years. Ultimately, a “pick your poison” option for auto traffic over the old bridge was offered by TDOT for consideration — closing the I-55 for two years to all traffic, or leaving one lane open each way to passenger vehicles for four years. Those options remain on the table, albeit delayed by this latest announcement.

John Wintermantel of Southland Gaming and Racing asked the question on everyone’s mind.

“What does that mean for the timeline?” asked Wintermantel.

“Originally, they were supposed to start construction in 2017,” said Brawley. “Then it moved back to 2018. So, I assume that means 2019 or ‘20.”

“Depending on what is decided,

there may have to be some additional design time, too,” said Cain.

By John Rech