The East Hardy Bridge (now known as the River Avenue Bridge) serves as a vital connection between Hattiesburg and Petal, two cities which are only separated by the Leaf River. The existing steel truss bridge was constructed in the 1950’s. Since then the bridge has been maintained and painted many times by Forrest County. However, it was determined some years ago that the bridge had reached the end of its design life and needed to be replaced. Thanks to Federal Funding the process of replacing the bridge started in 2018. As a part of that process, a new modern concrete bridge was to be constructed along side of the existing bridge. Then the old bridge was to be removed. After much back and forth between the mayors of Hattiesburg and Petal and Forrest County, it was determined that the Cities with take over ownership of the old bridge and repurpose it for use as a pedestrian facility further linking the two urban areas. The project was completed and open to the public in in 2024. The project expanded & relocated the existing 2 lane open ditch roadways into multilane commercial roadways with curbs, subsurface drainage and pedestrian facilities.
How does this project rate in the tenure of SDW Project History (largest, most significant, most impactful to the community, etc)?
This is one of the largest and most expensive bridge projects that we’ve completed to date.
Significant Project Obstacles or Engineering Challenges:
Constructed under Traffic
Cross the Leaf River w/ 300LF Steel Girder Main Span
River Flooding during Construction
Significant Project Highlights:
Created a Pedestrian Facility out of the Old Steel Truss Bridge (repurposed old bridge that was originally intended to be removed. Preserved history.)
Design Sub Consultants:
Royal Engineers & Consultants, LLC
Vixon Sullivan Art
W Geotechical & Testing, Inc
Wetland Consulting Services, Inc.
Funding Source(s): Emergency Road and Bridge Repair Program administered thru the Mississippi Department of Transportation & funded by the Infrastructure Modernization Act of 2018
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