BEAUMONT -
The Texas Department of Transportation began placing concrete barriers on the Purple Heart Memorial Bridge Monday morning.
Monday night, crews will begin re-striping the road as they prepare to move Eastbound I-10 traffic to the Westbound side; forming two lanes East and two lanes West on that side of the bridge.
Marc Shepherd with TX-DOT says the lane merger will take place in about one week.
Shepherd says the alternative routes are in South County and so far away that the drive won't save you much time.
Justin Williams works at Empire Scaffold, near the foot of the bridge. He says traffic already troublesome.
"The traffic on the feeder road is worse that what it is on the highway. It took 20 minutes to get on the freeway," says Williams.
He says he's already sitting in traffic that he believes may get worse. But, Williams says alternative routes are not an option.
"I have to go way out of town through Bridge City, Port Arthur and come back around; or, down Highway 105, through Silsbee and that's out of the way," says Williams.
Shepherd says motorists should start planning ahead.
"The big thing to do is plan early and be prepared for any delay," says Shepherd.
He says the biggest delays will be during rush hour traffic; putting drivers 20-25 minutes behind schedule. But, he says the alternative routes may put you even farther behind.
"You can go to the Veterans Memorial Bridge and also to the bridge in Evadale. So, there's not many alternative routes except that," says Shepherd.
Truck driver, Garland Sims, says he's also going to brave the construction; hoping his work load gets completed.
"I'll have to deal with my boss calling and asking 'What's taking so long to get materials to and from sites,'" says Sims.
Both Williams and Sims say their work shifts may change in a week; changing their schedules to accommodate the traffic.
Shepherd says once the East side of the bridge is completely re-built, crews will then work on the West side of the bridge. The entire project is expected to last two years. The total cost is $60 million.
