La. 182 bridge closed for rehab project

The La. 182 bridge over Berwick Bay -- officially, the Long-Allen Bridge -- was closed Tuesday for a $25.9 million rehabilitation project that the Department of Transportation and Development expects to take about two years. The work includes cleaning and painting the bridge and making any needed repairs on the bridge deck and surface, the superstructure above the deck, and the pilings and abutments below. The contract was awarded to Southern Road and Bridge of Tarpon Springs, Florida. The bridge's relatively narrow width means it must be closed to vehicle traffic during the project, according to the DOTD. The closure comes seven months after a $12 million rehab and repainting project on the U.S. 90 bridge was declared complete. That work restricted traffic on the four-lane new bridge to one lane in either direction for more than three years.

The Review/Bill Decker