Champ Clark Bridge to Close for Rivet Replacement

As expected, the Champ Clark Bridge at Louisiana will be closed for parts of eight days while rivets are replaced.

The project will shut down the 87-year-old crossing from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. October 19 to 21, 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. October 22, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. October 26 to 28 and 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. October 29.

More than 15 hundred original rivets on the underneath part of the bridge are rusting and must be replaced with new bolts. The work will take several weeks to complete.

Engineers say additional closings are likely into late November, but a schedule won’t be set until they see how the initial work is progressing.

The need for the project was discovered during an annual inspection in August.