I-10 Bridge Span in Louisiana Bans Oversized Trucks

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rucks hauling oversize and overweight loads cannot use the Interstate-10 bridge twin spans recently reopened near New Orleans after being torn apart by Hurricane Katrina, the Associated Press reported.

The damaged bridge span reopened early Friday. (Click here for previous coverage.)

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development subsequently sent out an advisory saying both spans of the bridges between Slidell, La., and New Orleans would be closed until further notice to oversize and overweight loads, AP reported.

Katrina’s tidal surge ripped up the concrete bridge, tossing some sections into Lake Pontchartrain and shifting others by as much as five feet.

Repair crews used undamaged spans from the westbound bridge to patch the eastbound bridge, which was converted temporarily to two-way traffic and opened Oct. 14. That left about a mile of the westbound roadway missing, AP said.