Press Release – All traffic on US 84/183 between Early and Zephyr in Brown County is scheduled to be detoured for a 4-hour period on Thursday, June 29 as crews close the highway to demolish the old railroad bridge at the Fort Worth & Western Railroad.

For the 4-hour period between approximately 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., all traffic will be detoured between the communities of Zephyr and Blanket.

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Travelers heading out of Brownwood/Early towards Zephyr/Goldthwaite will be detoured to US 67/377 to Blanket, then south on FM 1467 to Zephyr.

Travelers heading towards Brownwood/Early from Zephyr/Goldthwaite will be detoured to FM 1467 to Blanket, then into Early on US 67/377.

As the length of the detour is approximately 20 miles, travelers should allow substantially more time to reach their destinations.

Once the highway is reopened to traffic at approximately 1 p.m., traffic delays at the bridge site could be expected until mid-late Thursday afternoon while crews complete the bridge removal.

Following the bridge removal, contractors will begin construction of a new, wider bridge. A temporary bridge has been constructed to allow continued railroad operations during the construction period.

The new bridge will allow US 84/183 to be widened to four 12-foot travel lanes as the highway passes under the railroad. Currently, the highway is a four-lane facility on either side of the existing bridge, but the highway must narrow to only two lanes as it passes under the bridge. Construction of the $12.4 million project is expected to be completed in spring 2018.

TxDOT’s Brownwood District includes Brown, Coleman, Comanche, Eastland, Lampasas, McCulloch, Mills, San Saba and Stephens counties.

For news media inquiries, contact Andrew.Carlson@TxDOT.gov or (325) 643-0413.