City of Pineville, DOTD provide updates on Military Hwy overpass removal

PINEVILLE, La. (KALB) - Now that the Pineville roundabout is open to traffic, several viewers have been asking for an update on the overpass removal on Military Hwy (U.S. 165).

ORIGINAL STORY: DOTD announces immediate closure of overpass on Military Highway

News Channel 5 reached out to the City of Pineville and DOTD on Wednesday to check on the progress of the $1.9 million project.

Rich Dupree with the City of Pineville said that at this point, the utilities in the area are being relocated so that the work can be completed. He estimates that the utility removal process should take up to 30 days. Dupree said that the project is “halfway home” to completion.

Erin Buchanan with DOTD confirmed that they cannot finish the work until all of the utilities (water, sewage, gas, cable, etc.) are properly moved. She said the timetable for completion is estimated to be around “late spring” of 2021. Once the overpass is completely removed, Buchanan said it is up to the railroad company to make a safe railroad crossing at ground level with the usual gate, lights and signals.

The overpass was closed back in November 2019 due to poor conditions.

(Below is a photo of how the overpass looked prior to the project’s construction process)

Military Hwy overpass — Military Hwy overpass(KALB)

Copyright 2020 KALB. All rights reserved.