Posted on Tue, Oct. 30, 2007

When the new Biloxi Bay Bridge opens Thursday, motorists will notice a slight bend at each end of the 1.6-mile span.

To help build the $338 million bridge in record time, the state Department of Transportation began construction on land at the same spot the old bridge began, matching the new bridge up with U.S. 90.

However, underwater debris and pieces of the old Katrina-destroyed bridge were in the way, forcing MDOT to alter the path of the new bridge.

The old bridges in Biloxi and Bay St. Louis were straight spans over the bays, but the new ones are anything but.

"One of the main reasons we veered off the way we did, especially in Biloxi, was to get away from the debris field and allow the contractor to come in and start working," said Harry Lee James, MDOT's chief engineer.

Debris and pilings from the old bridge were later removed.

Like the Bay St. Louis Bridge, the new Biloxi link was built using the design-build method, a relatively new concept for MDOT.

The method allows construction crews to build the bridge while engineers are designing it, which could shave years off the construction time.

The Biloxi Bay Bridge dips south at both ends and the Bay St. Louis Bridge swings north.

In Bay St. Louis, the bridge was shifted to help MDOT engineers revamp the U.S. 90 curve through Henderson Point.

"You had basically a 90-degree curve to Bay View (Avenue in Henderson Point) and we elected to stay elevated and smooth that out until you get to Bay View," James said last week. "We didn't have any similar situation at Biloxi."