Back in March TxDOT announced an 18 month project where they would be closing the Rainbow Bridge in the fourth quarter of 2024, forcing southbound traffic to share the Veterans Bridge. The public was not happy about the news considering the traffic issues that are already being caused by the new construction in both Orange and Jefferson County.
While the closing of the bridge has had to be done on occasion for repairs, the fact that we were going to have use two 90 degree turns to get to the Veterans Bridge was what really set people off. There had to be a better way.
Fast forward to now and the project has not started. TxDOT told KOGT when asked about the project two weeks ago, “The detour of the Rainbow Bridge has been moved to early 2025. We want to make sure we have all the material on-hand. Once we have a definite date, we will let the public know.”
Orange County Judge John Gothia said recently on the Behind the Mic Podcast that they talked to TxDOT and said there had to be a better way than using the L-turns.
“Their L-Turn idea was going to make slow traffic slower and we believed unsafe. Commissioner Roccaforte reminded them of how they merged traffic years ago and why couldn’t it be done again,” Gothia said. “So they approved a merging lane and that’s what you see them putting together now. “
TxDOT is also building a new lane on the Port Arthur side to move traffic back over to Hwy. 73
TxDOT did not say exactly what will be done to the Rainbow Bridge when the project begins.
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