DYERSBURG, Tenn. (AP) Construction officials said repairs and painting of the I-155 Mississippi River bridge between Dyersburg and Caruthersville, Mo., are ahead of schedule.

VHP Enterprises Inc. of Tarpon Springs, Fla., has a $5.9 million contract from the Tennessee Department of Transportation for the work, which includes cleaning and coating the structural steel and sealing concrete.

According to the State Gazette of Dyersburg, company officials said the repairs are 80 percent complete. The company has a contracted finish date of September 2010, but they say they plan to be finished much sooner.

The bridge was originally built in the early 1970s, has 59 spans and is 7,102 ft. (2,165 m) long.

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