Fort Bayou Drawbridge in Ocean Springs is officially reopened

May 20, 2021

WXXV,

It’s been a long time coming for the Fort Bayou Drawbridge in Ocean Springs which has been closed for the last two months for repairs.

To celebrate the reopening, the City of Ocean Springs held a ribbon cutting ceremony this afternoon.

The closure of the Fort Bayou Drawbridge stopped major access into Downtown Ocean Springs. Local shops, businesses, and restaurants experienced a decrease in foot traffic as it became more of a hassle for residents to access the area.

St. Martin resident Pamela Stewart tells News 25 that without access to the bridge, she’s felt like she’s been cut off from everything. “We are just happy it’s open. We can go to Downtown Ocean Springs and go to the dog shops and other shops and the restaurants. It’s just going to be nice. I don’t feel cut off from the world anymore.”

Stewart drove across the bridge from St. Martin to be a part of the ribbon cutting.

With over 40,000 people traveling across the bridge each day, the 30-minute detour around Highway 57 or Interstate I-110 created a major set back for everyone trying to get in and out of Ocean Springs. Ocean Springs Ward 4 Alderman Ken Papania said, “Personally in my family, it probably takes 30 minutes out of everyday to make the route around. It messes up our procedures of what we do. This is very, very important for the citizens of Ocean Springs to go across the Fort Bayou bridge.”

The bridge closed on March 14^th, MDOT and their engineers noticed the bearings and shafts on the bridge were worn and needed to be rebuilt and reshaped. Jackson County District 4 Supervisor Troy Ross said, “We owe them a thanks because had they not caught this and actually gone and done this, if this bridge would have failed on its own, it would have been a closure that lasted close to a year rather than two months.”

Although the bridge is now open to traffic for all four lanes, drivers should be aware of overnight lane closures until November when the project is expected to be completely finished. “During the hours of like 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., there will be some closures and there will be limited lanes, one lane north and one lane south at other times, but for the most you’ll have unimpeded traffic.”

But for Stewart, the wait is finally over. “We’re planning on coming down for dinner this weekend when my husband is home and just enjoying it.”