Illinois Department of Transportation spokesman Brian Williamsen said Tuesday that the bridge will shut down March 16 and is expected to reopen March 18, 2016.
The bridge carries U.S. 60 and U.S. 62 traffic, spanning the Mississippi River from the Cairo area of southern Illinois to near Charleston in southeast Missouri. Another bridge is just six miles to the north.
Message boards are alerting motorists in parts of Illinois, Missouri and Kentucky to the pending closure and to seek alternate routes.
The two-lane bridge opened in 1929. Plans call for nearly $3 million to be spent on joint and beam repairs.
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