The west span of the Interstate 10 Twin Spans Bridge in New Orleans LA reopened January 6, nine days ahead of schedule, restoring four-lane traffic to the east-west corridor devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
Repairs were accelerated thanks to a flexible contract with incentives that rewarded early completion and discouraged missing project deadlines, said United States Secretary of Transportation Norman Y Mineta. He said the DOT’s Federal Highway Administration helped Louisiana streamline contracting for the Twin Spans reconstruction, allowing work to begin as soon as possible after Katrina.
In 2005, Mineta provided $25 million from FHWA’s emergency relief program as a down payment to Louisiana for repairing I-10 and other federally supported highways and bridges damaged by Katrina. Congress recently approved the Bush administration’s request for more emergency relief money for Gulf Coast rebuilding, providing $2.75 billion for road repair in states that suffered during the 2005 hurricanes.