The Jimmie Davis Bridge is Closing: Here's All You Need to Know

The bad news is the Jimmie Davis Bridge is closing. The good news is...that it won't be closed for long.

Commuters in Shreveport, Bossier and the ArkLaTex will have to make a few changes in their driving habits this weekend. Officials with the state's Department of Transportation and Development have announced that the time-worn trestle over the Red River will be closed to all traffic from 8pm Friday, July 16 until 6am Monday, July 19.

DOTD repair crews will be working to patch sections of the bridge deck and take a close-up look at the bridge structure during an annual inspection.

Alternate routes over the river include the Barksdale Bridge, the I-20 bridge or the Texas Street Bridge, connecting downtown Shreveport and Bossier City.

The bridge, which was built in 1968, remains at the center of controversy, with a long term plan to refurbish or replace the aging structure undecided, despite the state allocating $100 million in this year's legislative session.

DOTD Secretary Dr, Shawn Wilson originally told KEEL that a plan to build a pair of new, two lane structures was a go, but revised his plan less than two weeks later, saying that a renovation of the current bridge and adding a new, single two lane bridge was back on the the table.

Wilson insists that, despite the aging appearance of the JDB, the bridge isn’t a hazard. But he adds there can only be so many repairs before the span "becomes obsolete."

On average, the bridge handles between 25,000 and 26,000 vehicles daily.