DOTD waits till the first week of school to start bridge inspections

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development is conducting inspections on the Mississippi River Bridge in East Baton Rouge Parish starting Monday.

Inspections on the I-10 bridge will test whether the bridge remains structurally sound to carry 100,000 vehicles worth of traffic daily.

DOTD inspects the bridge every two years, with crews typically inspecting the bridge using underbridge inspection trucks and man-lifts. This requires multiple lane closures, DOTD officials said. In order to cause minimal impact on traffic, crews will be utilizing a rope access method to access most parts of the bridge.

Brief rolling closures will happen between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. between Monday, Aug. 3, and Sunday, Aug. 16.