Hurricane Katrina aftermath

Hurricane Katrina exacted a heavy toll on the regional transportation infrastructure.  Nowhere was the damage more evident than on the Interstate 10/Twin Span Bridge across Lake Pontchartrain.   

The record-breaking storm surge lifted many of the 309 ton concrete spans off their piers and broke the steel bolts that anchored them in place.  Some of the spans toppled into the lake while others were seriously misaligned. 

(Click here for interactive graphics that depict the bridge’s destruction.   These graphics are courtesy of the New Orleans Times-Picayune and NOLA.com.) 

The eastbound bridge lost 38 spans and another 172 were knocked out of alignment.  Twenty spans were destroyed on the westbound bridge and another 265 were misaligned. 

Response was swift

Restoring traffic on the Twin Span Bridge was critical to the region’s recovery effort.   

(Click here for a brief video on the bridge repair effort.)  

As soon as the winds subsided personnel from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and Volkert Construction Services, Inc. began working on a damage assessment and emergency repair plan.   

Twelve days later the DOTD accepted a $30.9 million bid from Boh Bros. Construction Co. to perform the emergency repairs and restore the vital transportation link.  Volkert was selected to provide construction engineering and inspection services in support of DOTD.   

The repair schedule was rigorous.  The DOTD contract allowed the team 45 days to put two-way traffic on the eastbound bridge.  The more heavily damaged eastbound bridge had to be repaired within a 120 day time limit. 

Repair strategy 

Repairs were performed in three phases.  Phase I called for using undamaged concrete segments from the westbound bridge to fill gaps in the eastbound structure.  The construction team worked around-the-clock to complete the work 17 days early.  

Phase II of the effort focused on the repair of the more heavily damaged westbound bridge.  Some of the spans had been damaged by the hurricane, while others had been used to repair the eastbound bridge.  The large gaps in the bridge were filled using prefabricated metal bridge panels.  Two travel lanes were opened on the westbound bridge eight days in advance of the 120 day contract deadline.