LOUISIANA, USA — If you've driven westbound on I-10 at the Mississippi-Louisiana state line recently, you've probably experienced a traffic nightmare.
The East Pearl River Bridge on I-10 W is undergoing a necessary repair. The damage was caused by a vehicle strike and fire that happened earlier this year, according to the Mississippi Department of Transportation.
The good news is that MDOT anticipates the project to be complete by Monday, July 24th.
The bad news is that this makes matters worse for drivers who are relying on I-10 as their alternate route, including many folks in Pearlington, Miss.
From the Pearlington Rocket Express, you can see the dead end that once was the US 90 Pearl River Bridge.
Michael Acker said he's seen a lot from the convenience store's stoop.
“We have a lot of people come through here asking for directions. How to get around the traffic," Acker said. “A lot of people from different states coming through, turning around cause the bridge is closed down.”
The Louisiana Department of Transportation said that section of US 90 has been closed since Spring of 2022. DOTD said four of the bridges that cross West Pearl are deteriorating.
Meanwhile, the East Pearl Bridge is beyond its expected service life and will require replacement or face closure, DOTD said.
Michael Mavenyengaa, owner of Pearlington Rocket Express, said he's facing closure as well. Mavenyengaa said things were going well until COVID-19. Just when the business started to bounce back from the pandemic, the bridge closed.
“We’ve lost so far almost half of our business," Mavenyengaa said. "We are already in serious debt."
Timothy White stopped by the store on Tuesday. White said he lives in Pearlington, but he travels to Slidell for work.
“It takes 3 hours to get to work. My wife’s a bartender. She has to leave at least 2 hours early," White said.
That's because traffic is diverted to I-10 while US 90 is closed, and it's usually clogged up, White said.
“Yeah, we’re screwed if a hurricane comes," White said. "One fender bender is all it takes, and it’s backed up for miles again. It doesn’t take a lot.”
While the I-10 roadwork has an expected completion date, the bridge replacement on US 90 has no timeline.
Louisiana DOTD said plans are being developed and efforts are underway to secure the estimated $250 million in funding that's needed to replace all five bridges.
However, $250 million exceeds the department's yearly budget for bridge construction, DOTD said.
At the same time, DOTD said it's facing a backlog of projects across the state.
"The state has an $18.8 billion backlog of needs and many of these roads and bridges carry more traffic and don’t have a nearby alternate route," Louisiana DOTD said. "Unfortunately, there is no quick fix that will address the US 90 bridges crossing the Pearl River."
In the meantime, Pearlington residents will deal with the traffic and hope for a solution.
“We’re just trying to stay in business for the community of Pearlington. Not that we are really making a lot of for profit," Mavenyengaa said.
“Louisiana and Mississippi need to come together and figure it out," Acker said.
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