All lanes of the Interstate 55 (I-55) Mississippi River Bridge will be closed on Saturday, November 15, and Sunday, November 16, for bridge joint repairs. The Arkansas Department of Transportation announced that weather permitting, the closure will start at Exit 1 (Bridgeport Road) in Arkansas. Before the closure, I-55 will reduce to one lane at Exit 4 (Martin Luther King Jr. Drive/Highway 38). The closure extends through Exit 12 (Crump Boulevard/Riverside Drive) in Tennessee.
The southbound lanes are expected to reopen by Sunday evening, while northbound lanes will remain closed until Tuesday. During this period, northbound traffic must use a detour. The schedule for the closures is as follows: I-55 South from 12:01 a.m. Saturday, November 15, through 8 p.m. Sunday, November 16; I-55 North from 12:01 a.m. Saturday, November 15, through 6 p.m. Tuesday, November 18.
A signed detour will be available for motorists who are encouraged to use the Interstate 40 Mississippi River Bridge as an alternative route. This closure is necessary for crews to repair the bridge’s finger joints—large metal interlacing structures that accommodate expansion and contraction in longer bridge spans.
Message boards will inform drivers about the closure ahead of time. For updated traffic information, visit IDriveArkansas.com.
Information from this article can be found here.
