A portion of River Road in Norco between Good Hope Street and Prospect Avenue will be closed for 16 days as workers remove a pipe bridge that has been in place for more than 40 years.
The closure will take place 0.8 miles down River Road from Apple Street and 0.2 miles up River Road from Prospect Avenue.
The road closure, which will take place from Dec. 19 through Jan. 3, will allow Valero and Shell/Motiva to dismantle the pipe bridge to create greater overhead clearance for traffic.
The current clearance of the bridge is 13 feet, 2 inches and does not allow larger elevated vehicles to pass underneath.
As a result, those vehicles must now travel down Apple Street and through residential areas.
A new pipe bridge will be built in its place that will be nearly six feet higher. Valero spokeswoman Taryn Miller said this will allow a greater use of Prospect Avenue by large trucks and reduce congestion on Apple Street.
Throughout the closure, there will be detour/road closure signs located at the intersections of Apple and Prospect.
Employees of Shell, Motiva and Valero will still be able to enter work. Traffic will be allowed into Shell and Motiva via Apple Street and traffic will be allowed into Valero via Prospect Avenue.
Another alternate route is Airline Drive.
“Valero has collaborated with the St. Charles Parish School System, as well as other community groups, and the construction will be completed during the school holidays so that school buses will not be affected,” Miller said.
The current pipe bridge, which has been in place for at least 40 years, was built by GATX Corporation. Valero uses the pipe rack to move diesel fuel, caustic, jet fuel, water, steam and air from ships and barges to the plant tank field. It is also used to move materials from one tank field to another tank field in the plant.
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