Bridge Accident Takes Out Major Evacuation Route

Last week’s bridge accident in Biloxi has put that city on a race to repair it before hurricane season begins. MPB’s Phoebe Judge reports.

The barge that hit the Popp’s Ferry Bridge last Friday morning was carrying a light load of gravel, and that combined with strong winds may have been what caused the barge to slam into the bridge, destroying two 90 foot sections just south of the draw. While no injuries were reported, Biloxi is now faced with a traffic nightmare. Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway,

“You know this is the only span in the city limits of Biloxi to come over to the peninsula, Back Bay Bridge and this bridge here. We’ve got thirty five thousands cars a day coming over this bridge and they are going to have to go somewhere else now. So it’s going to be a nightmare for quite a while now. Hurricane season in two ½ months.”

The Popp’s Ferry Bridge is one of the major evacuation routes used during hurricanes, and Mayor Holloway wants to see the bridge up and running before the season opens on June 1st, which doesn’t leave much time. But the city has been through this before says city spokesmen Vincent Creel,

“This bridge it was damaged from Katrina. We got it in shape before Christmas, after the storm. So it took us four months to get the bridge back in shape after the storm.”

Mayor Holloway has been advocating for a new Popp’s Ferry Bridge for years now. One that is built higher and requires no draw. That project could easily cost more than 100 million dollars, and take more than a year to complete. So for now, the Mayor says temporary repairs to the existing bridge will have to suffice. The Mayor plans on asking city council to declare a state of emergency later today.