PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — The South Norfolk Jordan Bridge remains closed Tuesday afternoon, 11 days after the Wheelabrator plant fire in Portsmouth.

A large conveyer belt, which moves trash from one side of the facility to the other, caught fire and damaged the facility.

The fire primarily impacted the trash chute, which extends across Elm Avenue, but also impacted the structure that houses the conveyor belt. Now crews are assessing what to do with the duct.

Wheelabrator says they’ve secured some of the equipment they need to and now they’re preparing to bring some of the damaged sections of the conveyer belt down so they can get Elm Avenue and the Jordan Bridge back open.

They released a statement, saying in part, “We are on schedule to receive the cranes and are performing some prep work at the site today. We will then begin work to safely bring down the damaged sections of the conveyor belt and enclosure as reopening the road for the community is our priority.”

The bridge however does remain open on a limited basis for Norfolk Naval Shipyard parking (lots 41, 42, 43) and local businesses immediately adjacent to the Jordan Bridge.

The bridge is currently only accessible via Chesapeake/I-464. Through traffic to Victory Blvd./Gate 36/Effingham/Downtown Portsmouth is not permitted due to the location of the conveyor that stretches over Elm Avenue.

“We have remained open on the Chesapeake side to support some of the parking areas of the shipyard and some of the businesses that are essentially land locked from this situation,” said South Norfolk Jordan Bridge General Manager Kevin Crum.

Crum says about 10,000 people use the bridge each weekday. He says the closure is causing more congestion in the Downtown Tunnel, so they hope to get it back open soon.

“These things we understand they take time but certainly this is a major economic impact and traffic impact to not only the businesses, but also the residents here in Portsmouth,” Crum said.

He says even though its important to get it back open, they want to make sure it’s safe to do so.

“Anytime there’s something like a fire for instance you would have to do an analysis of how the structure is impacted,” Crum said. “So when you’re working with live traffic on a day-to-day basis you can never take any chances whatsoever.”

Portsmouth Fire says there are no other updates on the cause of the fire at this time.

Wheelabrator says in the meantime they’ve been processing waste at a reduced capacity.