BEAUMONT, Texas — Drivers headed between Bridge City and Port Arthur along Texas Highway 87 may face a slightly slower commute by fall when the Rainbow Bridge is shut down for a year and a half of maintenance.
A specific date for the maintenance work, that the Texas Department of Transportation estimates will last for about 18 months, hasn't been set yet but it's expected to start in the summer or late fall of this year according to TxDot.
Once the work starts, the Rainbow Bridge will be completely closed and all westbound traffic will be diverted to the Veterans Memorial Bridge which will have two lanes for each direction.
During construction TxDot is proposing that the speed limit in the area be lowered to 50 mph.
An "S-curve" will transition westbound traffic over to the Veterans Memorial Bridge and have a speed limit of 20 mph. Environmental concerns require the "S-curve" instead of a straight transition according to TxDot.
TxDot will also be installing eight traffic cameras along the Veterans Memorial Bridge when the maintenance starts.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
