I-10 Twin Span Bridge | |
|---|---|
 The high-rise portion under construction near the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, February 2009, with the old eastbound span also visible | |
| Coordinates | 30°10′58″N 89°49′29″W / 30.18264°N 89.82486°W |
| Carries | 6 lanes of  I-10 |
| Crosses | Lake Pontchartrain |
| Locale | New Orleans and Slidell, Louisiana, U.S.A. |
| Official name | Frank Davis Memorial Bridge |
| Maintained by | LA DOTD |
| Characteristics | |
| Total length | 29,039 feet (8,851 m) |
| Width | 60 feet (18 m) each span |
| Clearance above | 30 feet (9.1 m) and 80-foot (24 m) at the high rise section |
| History | |
| Opened | July 9, 2009 (current eastbound) April 7, 2010 (current westbound) September 9, 2011 (current completed) |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 55,000 |
| Location | |
 | |
The I-10 Twin Span Bridge, a nearly 5.5-mile (8.9 km) causeway officially known as the Frank Davis "Naturally N'Awlins" Memorial Bridge, consists of two parallel trestle bridges. These parallel bridges cross the eastern end of Lake Pontchartrain in southern Louisiana from New Orleans to Slidell. The current bridge spans were constructed in the second half of the 2000s after the original bridges were extensively damaged by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. The first span opened to eastbound traffic on July 9, 2009.[1] On April 7, 2010, the second span was opened to traffic and the old twin spans were permanently closed to traffic.[2]
The approaches to the westbound lanes were completed with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 8, 2011, and the opening of all six lanes the next morning.[3] The original Twin Span bridges were demolished shortly after the replacement spans opened. A short portion remains in use as a public fishing pier in Slidell. The debris from the demolition was used to line the nearby lake bottom as an underwater reef.[4]
On August 1, 2014, the bridge was officially named the Frank Davis "Naturally N'Awlins" Memorial Bridge to honor the former WWL-TV News personality Frank Joseph Davis (1942–2013) who often fished near the bridge.[5]
- ^ Duvernay, Adam. New Twin Spans eastbound to open July 9. nola.com, July 6, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ Kelly, John. "Old I-10 twin spans to close Wednesday". nola.com, April 6, 2010. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
- ^ "Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development press release". Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
- ^ Mouton, Doug. "Revamped Twin Spans to open several months early" Archived February 21, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. wwltv.com, August 10, 2011. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
- ^ [1](pdf document)