Contractors install beams for CR 285 bridge

TYLER — Contractors began laying beams early Thursday morning for the new bridge on Smith County Road 285, also known as Old Omen Road. Officials say work began earlier this month to replace the old, narrow bridge with a longer, wider concrete bridge. Smith County Engineer Frank Davis said the project is on schedule for the bridge being completed in August, before the start of school. During construction, the portion of CR 285, near its intersection with CR 2215 (Lake Meadows Road), to Farm-to-Market Road 848, is closed to thru traffic. This bridge services the east side of Lake Tyler and a portion of Lake Tyler East. The detour around Lake Tyler is about 16 miles.

“We know this will be a hardship for many people traveling the Lake Tyler area but we thought this was the best time to reconstruct this much-needed bridge,” Davis said as quoted in a news release, adding that the project is being done while schools are out for the summer. The area serves Chapel Hill, Arp and Whitehouse school districts. The construction project is part of the Smith County Road and Bridge Bond Program, and is expected to be completed before the start of school. Once the bridge construction project is complete, roadwork to CR 285 will begin but the road will be open during that construction, Davis said. That project will include about 5.7 miles of CR 285, as well as CR 2274 and 2275, for a total of 8.5 miles.

This will be the longest stretch of road upgraded as part of the Road and Bridge Bond Program at this time, Davis said. Roadwork will include grinding the existing roadway, cement treating it, widening it to 27 feet and asphalt overlay. That project will be bid out to contractors this summer. For more information about Smith County road projects, visit this link.