Officials taking next steps after fire damages I-110; southbound lanes closed after Bayview exit
BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - Wednesday morning, the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) announced all southbound lanes of I-110 after the Bayview Avenue exit are closed for repairs.
Southbound traffic is currently being redirected at Bayview Avenue exit 1D.
Officials say an 18-wheeler holding city event and traffic control signage caught fire under the bridge; MDOT’s preliminary assessment proved damage to the bridge columns and the underside of the bridge.
“Concrete is meant to be a compression, and the steel that’s inside of that concrete is meant to be intention,” said MDOT District 6 engineer Kelly Castleberry. “Any time that there is a fire near concrete or on concrete or under concrete, that concrete becomes brittle. It actually heats up and expands, and you’ll start to have an aggregate pop out or be removed from that concrete, causing voids.”
For now, I-110 from Bayview Avenue to U.S. 90 will remain closed indefinitely for motorists’ safety. A more detailed bridge inspection will take place at a later date.
“Depending on how much further damage we find, that’s going to dictate what has to be done through a contract to bring a contractor in there and do a repair to that structure,” Castleberry added. “This is kind of a unique bridge. It is a little bit of a different obstacle or practice that we’re going to have to do in order to remedy the repairs for the structure.”
According to Biloxi FD Chief Nick Geiser, first responders were dispatched to the scene of the fire Tuesday night. They worked to control the fire, and crews assessed the damage to the bridge Wednesday morning.
No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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