Major New Orleans artery opens for traffic

Major New Orleans artery opens for traffic    Highway officials today will reopen the west span of the Interstate 10 Twin Span Bridge in New Orleans, restoring four lanes of two-way traffic for the first time since the bridge over Lake Ponchartrain was damaged in August by Hurricane Katrina, the Department of Transportation said.
   Federal and state highway officials used a streamlined contracting process to accelerate completion of the project, which was finished nine days ahead of schedule. The contract included incentives that discouraged road builders from missing project deadlines and rewarded early completion of what is essentially a temporary patch job.
   I-10 is a key east-west corridor for travel and cargo, and is expected to help with the reconstruction of New Orleans. The east span of the bridge was reopened in mid-October and carried traffic both ways until the other span was patched.
   The Federal Highway Administration last year provided $25 million in emergency funds to Louisiana to help the state repair I-10 and other highways and bridges damaged by the storm.
   The DOT is expected to provide about $600 million toward a six-lane bridge to replace the 43-year-old span in about three years, the Associated Press reported.