Rayne Hwy 35 bridge north reopens for traffic

RAYNE - The Highway 35 bridge just north of Interstate 10 in Rayne was closed late Friday afternoon following an inspection by the state’s DOTD.
Rayne Police Chief Carrol Stelly stated the bridge was closed due to an apparent crack and sinking of the pavement near the middle of the highly-used roadway.
Officers with the Rayne Police Department was immediately called to the scene and diverted traffic to safe routes.
To the request of Mayor Charles “Chuck” Robichaux, the state’s DOTD was called to the scene and inspected the structure. Work crews worked throughout the night allowing the bride to re-opened in the mid-morning hours on Saturday.
“We were lucky the break was noticed when it was,” stated Robichaux of the situation. “The Chief and his officers got things under control and DOTD did their job by getting the bridge fixed in a timely manner.”
DOTD made repairs of an eight inch drop at a roadway seam midway through the bridge which is thought to be a result of the extreme heat of the past couple of weeks which caused the section to buckle and then collapse.
The work crew repaired the section of the bride by removing the damaged part of the roadway and then patched the area with road mixture.
Inspection of the site will be made on a regular basis to ensure the repair remains in tact.
To ensure motorists were aware of the situation, officers of the Rayne Police Department were on site to divert traffic to other routes throughout the entire time of the road closure.
“This could have turned into a dangerous situation,” stated Rayne Police Chief Carroll Stelly. “Our officers prevented motorists from using the bridge and directed them to safe routes. I would like to thank everyone for their cooperation during this unexpected event.”
As of Wednesday morning, Robichaux has made a request to the DOTD to inspect the completed work.