With more than half of the required metal replacement spans in place, repairs to the westbound Interstate 10 bridge shattered by Hurricane Katrina's tidal surge are on schedule to wrap up in six weeks.
The second phase of the state Department of Transportation and Development's $30.9 million project will restore two lanes of traffic in each direction between Slidell and New Orleans. The state gave Boh Bros. Construction Co. until Jan. 14 to restore the westbound bridge that bore the brunt of the twin spans' damage when the storm sucked the tidal surge out of Lake Pontchartrain.
"We feel pretty good that we can reach that, and we're hopeful we can get there a little sooner," DOTD spokesman Mark Lambert said as he toured the site by boat Thursday.
Field manager Larry Henley said that if the remaining pieces of repair and installation go smoothly, he hopes to reopen the bridge between Christmas and New Year's Day. The extra two lanes will ease still-snarled traffic and eliminate almost daily fender-benders caused by drivers rubbernecking to observe the massive bridge project. [Read more - nola]
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