A project in New Iberia that has been underway for years could be completed next month. The long awaited Lewis Street Bridge has come across quite a few complications pushing back its projected opening date of September 2006 to January or February of 2008.

As drivers cross the old Lewis Street Bridge in New Iberia, construction continues on the new Lewis Street Bridge. And after many setbacks during construction, the Department of Transportation and Development says that even though people have been curious about when the new bridge will open, there haven’t been that many complaints about the delay. "The old bridge did not have to be put out of service. So basically the traffic patterns and the available roadway has not been impacted in a negative way, as a result of the construction of the new bridge," explained Bill Fontenot, DOTD District Engineer.

Construction of the bridge was put on hold shortly following Hurricane Katrina pushing back the projected opening date of September 2006. And after construction picked up again, structural problems occurred. The latest road block is a problem found with the bridge’s electrical motors that allow for the raising and lowering of the bridge. Temporary motors will soon be brought in to allow for testing the rest of the bridge while new motors are ordered. "It is necessary that the bridge be fully tested for safe operation and acceptable operation," Fontenot said.

Fontenot explained that safety has been the number one priority during this project, and that is one reason it has taken so long. And Fontenot said he knows the bridge is needed as soon as possible due to the growing population of New Iberia. "Traffic will be maintained on the old structure and when it's safe and sound to use the new one we will be gleefully there to have it open to the traffic," Fontenot added. The new bridge will have five lanes compared to the old bridge, which has two, in order to accommodate the growing number of motorists.

Fontenot says the delays associated with the 13.8 million dollar project were unavoidable. He says natural disasters and structural problems are not accounted for when calculating an expected completion date, but hopefully the bridge will open at the start of 2008.