Biloxi bridge closed for nearly 10 hours - WLOX.com - The News for South Mississippi

A minor accident overnight caused some major headaches for many Biloxi motorists Friday morning. The Popp's Ferry Bridge was closed for nearly 10 hours after a vehicle broke a power pole.

Utility crews worked through the night to restore electric and phone service, while Biloxi police detoured traffic away from the bridge.

"A vehicle struck a power pole, caused the power line to fall down over the roadway along with phone lines and cable lines and things," said officer Bill Allen with Biloxi PD.

By mid-morning, a swarm of power company, telephone repair and city work crews went about the business of repairing and restoring. Hundreds of drivers dealt with finding alternate routes for the Friday morning commute.

"Very difficult to try and re-route all this traffic. Had to go all the way to Cowan Road or the I-110 to go around.  Four officers out here directing traffic from the early hours on," said Officer Allen.

The seemingly minor accident certainly caused multiple headaches: Power and phone service interrupted, along with a sewer pumping station knocked out of service. The accident caused a power outage to about 100 Mississippi Power customers, with most of those living in the townhome complex just south of the bridge. Power was restored about 6:45 Friday morning, about six hours after the accident.

With utility crews wrapping up their work, Biloxi police re-opened the Popp's Ferry Bridge; although drivers were directed around the still-working telephone repair team. By afternoon, traffic and all utility services were back to normal on Popp's Ferry Road and bridge.

You may recall there's been talk of building a new Popp's Ferry Bridge. The mayor of Biloxi made a trip to Washington in 2011 to talk about possible plans and funding sources.

The project calls for widening Popp's Ferry Road and building a new bridge. So far, it hasn't moved beyond the planning stage.

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