MARSHALL, Texas — Construction crews began work on a $11.9 million project to elevate the U.S. 59 bridge over Interstate 20 in Marshall this week — a process set to take approximately 30 months to complete, according to the Texas Department of Transportation estimates.
Drivers can expect to see traffic reduced to two lanes on U.S. 59 as crews work on the overpass one lane at a time. Heather Deaton, a TxDOT public information officer for the Atlanta district, said traffic will be limited to one lane in each direction around “the last week of November.”
The bridge currently sits at 15 and a half feet over the interstate, but state regulations passed in 2017 require at least 18 and a half feet of space between the roadways. The new bridge will have a 19-foot clearance over I-20 and feature new sidewalks as well.
“They are doing that because [U.S. 59] is on what’s called the Texas Highway freight network,” Deaton said. “That includes roads that are critical to freight movement and all interstates in the Atlanta district.”