‘ I think they are hoping we just forget about it’

‘ I think they are hoping we just forget about it’

MPO director says proposed Old Bridge closure still on the table

news@theeveningtimes.com

It has been months since the Tennessee Department of Transportation has offered any official word concerning a project that would likely require the complete closure of the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge (commonly known as the “Old Bridge”) for a minimum of nine months.

Since first being proposed in 2015, there has been opposition from this side of the Mississippi river, enough that the project was shelved pending further study. Public hearings conducted by State Senator Keith Ingram and the West Memphis Metropolitan Planning Organization saw large crowds.

ATDOT construction plan to improve the interchange on the east edge of the river at Crump Boulevard via a roundabout called for the complete closure of a portion of Interstate 55 while the project was being done. Time estimates for the lane closures grew seemingly in proportion to the backlash over the project — as little as nine months to a year or as long as two years.

Since the outcry, Tennessee Department of Transportation Project Manager Steve Chipman has been officially quiet on the project, according to West Memphis Study Director Eddie Brawley.

“I just talked to the project manager there at TDOT, and he said that they are still waiting on the updated traffic model from Memphis,” said Brawley. “It is my understanding it has been updated. I think they are hoping we just forget about it.”

Brawley brought that information to the local MPO, which has held updates on the Tennessee project as a standing item on their quarterly agenda.

He said the public information communication has deteriorated into TDOT gamesmanship.

“I heard a rumor through one of our state representatives that heard from over there that they are planning on doing it next year,” said Brawley. “So, I think they are just playing games.”

By John Rech