NATCHEZ — The westbound lanes of the Mississippi River Bridge connecting Natchez and Vidalia will close for about seven weeks beginning this afternoon.

Michael Flood, a spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Transportation, said the closure is necessary to replace pins and links on the westbound bridge, which was completed in 1940.

After the pins are replaced, Flood said traffic would return to the westbound bridge. However, he said MDOT officials would keep the detour routes in place.

“They will be doing some other adjustment work, but it will not require anything more than a lane closure, opposed to shutting the bridge down,” Flood said.

Natchez Mayor Butch Brown said MDOT workers have been replacing the pins for about four months now, but have gotten to the point in the work they need to close the bridge.

“I’m talking about a piece of round steel, six or seven inches in diameter and two or three feet long,” Brown said. “These pins and links are what allow the bridge to be flexible. Because of that, when the bridge moves, it creates wear and tear on the pins.”

He said workers have been driving out the old pins and putting in new pins for some time.

“I’m sure they’ve gotten to the point they need to close the bridge to traffic. When you’re doing any kind of work on highways and bridges under traffic, that’s not an ideal situation,” he said.