Posted on Wed, Oct. 31, 2007
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Bridge to open after day of parties
Fireworks before Thursday opening
By RYAN LaFONTAINE
rlafontaine@sunherald.com
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BILOXI --
The state Department of Transportation said the new Biloxi Bay Bridge should open as scheduled sometime Thursday night following giant, daylong celebrations on each side of the bay.Transportation and bridge officials told reporters Tuesday that engineers are planning to tour the bridge deck about 2 a.m. Thursday for one last check.
A mega celebration is expected to begin on the Biloxi side around 10 a.m. Thursday and the westbound lane of the bridge will open to two-way traffic sometime after a fireworks show, which is scheduled for 7 p.m.
A massive stage will be set up at the foot of the bridge on the Biloxi side and a smaller stage will hold festivities on the Ocean Springs side.
Biloxi officials will set up bleacher seating on the Town Green for bridge fans to watch the ceremony live on a big screen monitor. The stage and festivities in Ocean Springs will be along the beachfront, south of the bridge.
The mayors, other politicians and high school marching bands from each city are expected to lead a march across the bridge carrying long ribbons, which will be tied together by Transportation Commissioner Wayne Brown at the center of the new span.
MDOT engineers and bridge workers said Tuesday that the necklace lighting, a laser string of lights that will run along the outside of the bridge, will be illuminated along the side inside the bay sometime during or after the fireworks show.
Large crowds are expected to gather at each end of the bridge to help celebrate. More than 5,000 attended the opening of the Bay St. Louis Bridge on May 17.
It's been two years and two months since Hurricane Katrina blasted the Coast and destroyed the link between Biloxi and Ocean Springs, and for thousands of locals, the end of 45-minute commutes around the north shore is just hours away.
There is a buzz in the two towns like never before, a sense that something historic is about to happen.
