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Another bridge closes in the northern part of EBR

4 years 10 months 2 days ago Monday, May 27 2019 May 27, 2019 May 27, 2019 6:40 PM May 27, 2019 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - Another bridge in the northern part of East Baton Rouge Parish is closed. The Pride-Baywood Bridge near the East Feliciana Parish border was shut down last week due to structural issues.

Shirley McCoy says the closure was a shock to her and she's not happy that no one told her what to expect and for how long.

"This past Tuesday morning I looked up about 8:30 and they were moving a piece of equipment and then they blocked it off," McCoy said.

The bridge is about 250 feet from her driveway. Just on the other side of that bridge are her family members and friends, people she sees multiple times a week. With the closure she's worried she won't be able to check on them as much.

"He does have a heart problem and I worry about him," she said.

The closure could make it harder for emergency personnel to reach her house or her brother's home, on the other side of the bridge.

"When you need to be somewhere in a minute or two and you got to take 10-15 to circle around, time makes a difference," McCoy said.

The road typically has a lot of traffic, but on Monday it was quiet. A few cars and trucks didn't pay attention to the closed road ahead signs and had to turn around. The last driveway is McCoy's, which means cars and trucks have been using her property to right their vehicles.

The northern part of the parish, where McCoy lives, is no stranger to inconvenience. Bridges in the area seem to close all the time, especially on cut-thru roads. Last year, it was Stoney Point Birch Road Bridge, then Denham Road Bridge was closed, and Alphonse Forbes Road Bridge has been closed since 2016. A list of current bridge closures in EBR can be found here.

The City-Parish says the Pride-Baywood Bridge is closed for structural issues. It has to replace five bridge caps and at least two bridge piles which will require jacking up the bridge to make repairs. The repairs will take about 60 days. Detours could add an additional 5-20 miles to commutes.

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