I-10 Twin Span Bridge, Trestle bridge across Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana, United States
I-10 Twin Span Bridge is a bridge across Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana, connecting New Orleans and Slidell and stretching nearly 5.5 miles (8.8 km) over open water. Two parallel decks carry six lanes of highway traffic, supported by rows of concrete columns rising from the lake.
The original twin spans opened on December 21, 1965, each built from 433 concrete segments 65 feet long. Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005 pulled or shifted segments off their piers; the eastbound span reopened on October 10, 2005 and the westbound on January 6, 2006. The first new span opened on July 9, 2009, the second on April 7, 2010, and all six lanes opened on September 9, 2011.
On August 1, 2014, the crossing was named the Frank Davis "Naturally N'Awlins" Memorial Bridge, honouring the WWL-TV personality Frank Joseph Davis (1942–2013), who often fished near the bridge. A short stretch of the old 1965 spans survives at Slidell as a public fishing pier, keeping that fishing connection visible to visitors.
The crossing runs about 5.5 miles (8.9 km) with no exits or rest stops between the two shores, so fuel up and check conditions before entering. The two roadways are separated, each carrying three 12-foot lanes with 12-foot shoulders. Traffic cameras and electronic message boards warn of problems ahead, and the deck rises 30 feet (9.1 m) above the lake, with an 80-foot (24 m) high rise near Slidell.
Sections of the old bridge from the 1960s now rest on the lake bottom and serve as an artificial reef. Fish and other aquatic life use the sunken concrete segments as habitat.
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