NEW ORLEANS — Vehicles were a welcome sight on the Ted Hickey Bridge across the Industrial Canal near Lake Pontchartrain.
The span also known as the Seabrook Bridge connects Gentilly and the Lake Area communities to New Orleans East.
Thursday, it finally reopened.
“It’s great,” said bridge user Sherry Waters. “It makes it a lot better. I live in the neighborhood so it’s easier to get around and come east. Otherwise, we were forced to go down to I-10 and back. It makes it a lot easier.”
The bridge closed in March when inspectors discovered a support column had deteriorated, and the bridge needed to be taken out of service.
State Department of Transportation District Engineer Scott Boyle says contractors wrapped up their work about two weeks ahead of schedule.
“We’ve been working very diligently with our contractor, with our design team and we’re very excited,” Boyle said. “The bridge carries over 15,000 vehicles a day and it’s caused a significant detour through Press Drive and Chef Highway and the interstate.”
No one is more excited about the bridge reopening than Chef Daryl Coleman at Messina’s, the restaurant at Lakefront Airport.
“It’s going to be great for business,” Coleman said. “We did lose a lot of business over the past four or five months.”
Coleman estimates about a third of his customers come from the west side of the bridge.
He said when it’s closed, it’s hard for people to get to the restaurant.
“Especially folks that only have an hour for lunch. Well if it takes them 30 minutes to get and 30 minutes to get back, it doesn’t help us out any.”
According to DOTD, a complete rehabilitation of the bridge is now being planned and is set to begin in 2029.
City Councilman Eugene Green said it’s great to see the bridge open again.
He is calling on DOTD to prioritize inspections and repairs on the bridge to keep it open and safe for all commuters.
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