The Sunshine Bridge over the Mississippi River on Louisiana Highway 70 is closed indefinitely after a barge hit the bridge last week.The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development has indefinitely shut down the Sunshine Bridge on Louisiana Highway 70 over the Mississippi River south of Baton Rouge and I-10 after it was struck by a barge last week.
Louisiana DOTD says the damage is “extensive and several vital components of the bridge are in need of repair.”
“Our hope was to be able to use a portion of the bridge for traffic while emergency repairs were being made,” says DOTD Secretary Shawn D. Wilson, Ph.D. “However, that is not the case. We will be working on plans to make the repairs as quickly as possible and will develop a timeline for when the work will be completed. I know this is an inconvenience for the more than 25,000 travelers who use this bridge, but it is not safe to open it to traffic at this time.”
Louisiana 70 westbound traffic can detour by heading east on Louisiana 3125, south on Louisiana 3213 and crossing the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge, and west on Louisiana 3127 to the junction of Highway 70.
Eastbound traffic can detour by heading east on Highway 3127, north on Highway 3213 and west on Highway 3125 to the junction of Highway 70.
