WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. — Hundreds shared their thoughts on the proposed changes to the I-55 interchange.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation hosted a public meeting in West Memphis to share the plan that will involve shutting down the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge for nine months.
The West Memphis Civic Center was flooded with people for the meeting.
“Right now, I-55 is not a free flowing system,” Nichole Lawrence with TDOT said.
The Federal Highway Administration and TDOT planned to reduce crashes and congestion by replacing the existing interchange with a multi-lane roundabout intersection.
But it would also involve closing the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge completely for nine months.
“In the Spring of 2016 work will begin, but it won’t be until Spring of 2017 that the closure will actually take place,” Lawrence said.
That was getting people heated.
“The average person that works in Memphis will have to get up an hour to two hours earlier to go to their job just to make sure they’re on time,” Robert Thorne who lives in West Memphis said.
Crystal Floyd said taking the Hernando de Soto Bridge would easily add an extra hour, if not more, to her daily commute time, and that’s if the roads were clear.
“If something happens, there is no way to get all those folks across that bridge for people to get to their jobs,” she said.
Originally, TDOT thought the old bridge would have to be closed for two years.
While some said they were skeptical whether it could be completed in under a year, there seemed to be one thing everyone agreed on.
“It will be worth it,” Flyod admitted.
Another public input meeting will be held Thursday at MATA Central Station from 3:30 to 7:30.
