Salem Avenue closes at bridge

Mississippi Department of Transportation closed Salem Avenue at the bridge August 11 after posting blocked-road and detour signs at the site and on streets around Holly Springs.

Traffic was rerouted quickly once the old bridge was closed. The new bridge, of higher elevation of about seven feet, will allow trains carrying three decks of cargo containers to pass under it.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe and the Mississippi Central Railroad pass under Salem bridge.

East and west through traffic along that portion of Salem (Highway 4) will be rerouted using Highway 7 and the Holly Springs bypass (Eddie Lee Smith Drive), which reconnects with Highway 4 near Alliance Hospital.

The old bridge, which will be removed as soon as possible, was built in 1950.

The bridge replacement project is expected to take one year.

The bridge will cost $5.2 million to replace. It will have a sidewalk for foot traffic.

Salem Avenue, on either side of the bridge, will be open for local traffic only. The project has been in the works for a decade. Construction is set to be concluded for reopening the new Salem Avenue Bridge around Labor Day 2022.