Bridge may open Monday

Permanent repairs to begin in January

By DON HAMMACK - dthammack@sunherald.com

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GULFPORT --

MDOT hopes to have the Mississippi 26 bridge over the Pascagoula River in George County reopened as soon as Monday.

South Mississippi contractor Templet Consultants should begin temporary repairs today to get the bridge ready for use until full repairs are made, probably in January.

A truck carrying logging equipment damaged 12-15 members of the steel truss that supports the bridge, which helps connect the county seats of George and Stone counties. It crosses the river west of Lucedale.

"They'll do a temporary repair as quickly as they can to get it back open," MDOT District Engineer Ricky Lee said, "then they'll fabricate all the other members for permanent repair."

He said he expected it to open sometime next week, but thought it could be as soon as Monday. The state transportation agency was hoping to have the repairs complete during the holidays, but it will probably be out of service one to two weeks next month.