The U.S. 80 Bridge across the Mississippi River might be added to the Interstate 20 Bridge in a structural analysis study under way by researchers for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.

Fiber optic sensors are to be placed under the interstate highway’s supporting piers to check for structural changes. If the old bridge’s governing panel allows access to the Corps’ contractor on the project, those devices would coordinate with a digital camera under the old bridge to pan portions of the bridge as part of structural health monitoring, said Vincent Chiarito, a research structural engineer who appeared before the Vicksburg Bridge Commission Wednesday.

Any number of stability issues could be examined by the equipment, including barge strikes. During last spring’s floods on the Mississippi River, five barge tows struck piers on the structure during a 40-day span.

Equipment would stay in place for three years, according to the project’s contract, Chiarito said.

A commission decision, subject to approval by county supervisors, will likely involve a request for an agreement holding the panel harmless from liability. A similar agreement was reached between the commission and the Corps in 2006 for a separate effort to place radar gauges to check water depths.

In other business, the panel said rail traffic for March was reported at 20,550 cars by Kansas City Southern Railway. The total is down from 21,855 in February. Tolls collected from the railroad for February totaled $87,420.

The old bridge was privately built and opened in 1930. Warren County has owned and managed the bridge, now for rail and utility crossings only, as a nonprofit business since after World War II. The I-20 bridge is part of the federal highway system and opened in 1972.

*

Contact Danny Barrett Jr. at dbarrett@vicksburgpost.com