BILOXI, MS (WLOX) -
Work is almost finished on the new fishing bridge at Point Cadet in Biloxi. The $9 million project will replace the old fishing bridge destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Hurricane Isaac has caused a slight delay in the project schedule, but the construction work should now be finished by the end of January.
"It's sort of like a signature bridge for Old Biloxi, the Point Cadet fishing bridge," said City of Biloxi Spokesman Vincent Creel.
Creel vividly remembers what Katrina did to the old structure. He said the replacement span should be worth the wait.
"Two eleven foot lanes for traffic, there are two five foot ADA accessible sidewalks. And the biggest thing they're going to notice is the addition of lighting to this bridge," he explained.
W.C. Fore is the primary contractor on the project. Before construction could begin, tons of rubble had to be removed.
"Demolish the old pier, what was left standing from Katrina. And then driving the pilings. And then helping the sub-contractor build the pier by setting caps," said Project Engineer Frank Parker.
Local fishermen will tell you, these waters aren't very deep in many places. And that posed a special challenge for construction crews.
"It's been interesting getting the barges, the contractor barges around. There have been several instances where they got stuck and had to wait for the high tide to come in and get them out," said Parker.
Fishermen won't have much longer to wait. The project is on target to be finished by the end of January.
"We think it's going to be another great asset to Point Cadet and, frankly, to the entire City of Biloxi," said Vincent Creel.
The project will also include two vehicle turnarounds, one in the middle of the span and a second at the end.
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