Crews have recently begun work on a $11.9 million project to raise the US 59 bridge over Interstate 20 in Marshall, Texas, in order to meet state regulations, according to a CBS 19 report.
According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT), the project, which began on Nov 4, will take roughly 30 months to complete.
“They are doing that because [U.S. 59] is on what’s called the Texas Highway freight network,” Heather Deaton, TXDOT's public information officer for the Atlanta district, said. “That includes roads that are critical to freight movement and all interstates in the Atlanta district.”
According to state regulations issued in 2017, there must be at least 18 and a half feet of space above the roadways; however, the bridge currently spans I-20 at a height of 15 and a half feet.
Once completed, the new bridge will have a 19-foot clearance over the interstate and will include new sidewalks.
Crews will work on the bridge one lane at a time, limiting traffic on U.S. 59 to one lane in each direction during "the last week of November," Deaton stated.
