Rolling closures on I-10 Mississippi River Bridge, what to expect

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — The Mississippi River Bridge in downtown Baton Rouge is going to be a hassle to get over, more so than usual.

“On the I-10, Mississippi River Bridge or Horace Wilkinson Bridge, it is time for its inspection,” said Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Communication Director Rodney Mallett.

Crews are making sure the bridge is up to safety standards. It has been a routine check done every two years.

“It’s a federal requirement. Also, it’s just real smart because considering there’s, you know, more than 140,000 cars a day on this bridge, we need to ensure that it is safe for people to travel,” said Mallett.

To get this done, there will be rolling road closures twice a day. It’s a system that’s recently been used to reduce congestion.

“It’s going to be just a rolling closure so we can drop people and equipment off and then they can go about their business inspecting that bridge. So, we’re not setting up barriers and all of that we’re moving the whole time,” he explained.

These closures will most likely happen around 6 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

“One of the things we hear about is why don’t you do these inspections at night? Well, that would be very counterproductive because you want to be able to have total access. The more light, the better, because this is a very important safety feature for all our bridges in the state.” said Mallett.

DOTD said to pay attention while driving during these closures and find alternate routes if you need to.

“Just treat it as a work zone. Slow down. Pay attention,” said Mallett.

The inspection will last until July 30. If you are looking for alternative routes or updates on traffic or road closures, click here.