Bay St. Louis Bridge

the people’s choice

BAY ST. LOUIS BRIDGE STORY BY LAYLA ESSARY PHOTOS COURTESY MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PHOTOGRAPHER, JOHN THOMAS PHOTOGRAPHY, JOHNTHOMASPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

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During the heated 2008 election season, Ellen Breathe had a different kind of campaign on her mind—one involving a bridge rather than a politician. “We talked this contest up,” said Breathe, describing a national “People’s Choice Award” competition involving the Bay of St. Louis Bridge and nine other competing bridge projects. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed the Bay of St. Louis Bridge, as well as the Breathe’s home which was originally

built in 1820. “We lost everything that we couldn’t pack in the car days before the storm,” said Breathe, recalling the difficult task of cleaning up from a ten foot wall of debris piled along their property. Then factor in the impact of losing the nearby bridge and the result was even more devastating. “We felt so isolated, so cut off from the rest of the world,” said Breathe. That all changed when the Mississippi Department of Transportation

(MDOT) replaced the bridge in record time through a designbuild contract. The $267 million bridge was opened to one lane of traffic in two directions in record time— May of 2007. “We all celebrated, our entire community was joyous over the occasion,” said Breathe. “We were reconnected to the rest of the world. It was great for our family because my daughter lives right on the other side of the bridge. It was quite spectacular.” During the bridge recon-

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struction, the Breathe’s took pictures of the building progress almost every week, documenting the historic undertaking. “It made us feel like we were almost a part of the building process,” recalled Breathe. The entire bridge project was

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completed in November of 2007. In the months to come, the Breath family would learn that the Bay of St. Louis Bridge was vying for the People’s Choice Award. “We talked it up. You better believe it.” The Breathe’s and tens of thousands of others voted the

Bay of St. Louis Bridge into the coveted first place spot. “We salute our many partners in the reconstruction process, and most importantly the resilient people of Bay St. Louis, Henderson Point, and the surrounding Mississippi Gulf Coast communities,” said

MDOT Executive Director Larry L. “Butch” Brown. “The beautiful bridge carries U.S. Highway 90 traffic between Henderson Point and Bay St. Louis. This structure brings us one step closer in rebuilding lives better than before.” The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) announced the winners of the American Transportation Award for the People’s Choice Award at their annual meeting in Hartford, Connecticut in October. MDOT Media and Community Relations Manager Carrie Adams led an effort to spread the word about the prestigious award both close to home and beyond. Adams and other Outreach staff members orchestrated rallies and used the internet to bring attention to the contest. “It was thrilling to see this bridge commended in the award,” said Adams. “Congratulations to the Mississippi Department of Transportation, to its reconstruction partners and to the strong communities that rebuilt in such magnificent fashion.” Winning this award means a tremendous amount to people like Kent Dussom of URS Corporation, a representative in the consulting engineering firm that was on the job site daily, monitoring every step of

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progress along the way. Dussom’s oversight role even led him down unique paths of service along the way, literally. He was instrumental in commissioning accomplished sculptor Greg Moran to take remnants of the destroyed bridges— actual bronze bearing plates- and transform the mate-

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rial into mile-marker plaques for both the Biloxi Bay Bridge and Bay of St. Louis Bridge pedestrian walkways. “Southern Transportation Commissioner Wayne Brown wanted to see the recovered materials used in a unique way,” said Dussom. “For months we held call to artist

contests to solicit contour line drawings from coast artists. The sculptor has worked to transform those selected art renderings into 3-dimensional bronze plaques. The result is artwork with lasting value.” “This is a testimony to the great team at MDOT, starting with the director and continu-

ing to the bridge and district engineers,” said Commissioner Brown. “Together they developed a team of design builders who created a bridge that stands as a symbol to the resilience of our people. The result is an elegant, efficient, effective bridge that will serve motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists.” Commissioner Brown added that the people of the Gulf Coast owe a debt of gratitude to their congressional delegation, the governor and taxpayers for providing 100 percent funding of the bridge project. Artist Greg Moran said he always dreamed of creating sculptures of lasting significance, but never imagined he’d be a part of something quite this monumental. “What I am doing, my craft, my work, has been done for more than a thousand years. Now I am able to use my instruments to create something users of both bridges can enjoy for a long time,” said Moran. Enjoying the artwork and the bridge’s pedestrian walkway is a daily event for Ellen Breathe. “I feel so fortunate that I get to enjoy this beautiful bridge every day,” said Breathe. “I walk to the center of the bridge and back almost every day. And we take our love for this bridge wherever we go. We have become quite savvy in the

bridge design department, you might say.” The America’s Transportation Award competitions revealed project innovation, technology and transportation solutions that improve safety, relieve congestion, improve access to jobs and schools and enhances the quality of life in America. AASHTO will donate $10,000 to a community program selected by MDOT as part of the award. For more information about the award, go to www.americastransportationaward.org.

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