Bridging the Gap II: La. 182 span will be open to walkers, bicyclists Saturday

Staff Report
Mayors at both ends of the Long-Allen Bridge over Berwick Bay were happy with last month’s Saturday bridge closure to accommodate bicyclists and walkers. So they’re ready to try it again.
The old bridge will be closed to vehicle traffic 6 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday.
The event that has been dubbed “Bridge the Gap,” is part of an initiative from St. Mary Excel to “bridge a gap,” said Morgan City Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi.
St. Mary Excel, an advocacy group, raised private and public money to commission an Urban Land Institute study of development opportunities in Morgan City and Berwick.
The study recommended completion of the Morgan City Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan, which could be linked to Berwick’s walking trail via the old bridge.
The report stresses the importance of the two downtowns and their riverfronts and the opportunities to create new ways to connect and enhance them.
“Concentrating community investment across the bridge together would create and enhance a center of activity,” the study says. “Concentrated reinvestment would support an experience for residents and visitors alike, affecting equitable community recreation opportunities, strengthening walkability, bikeability, and water access.”
The bridge is also a longstanding symbol of the communities.
It is a truss bridge that was built by the Mt. Vernon Bridge Co. and was opened to traffic Dec. 20, 1933. It replaced the Morgan City-Berwick ferry that existed to the south by Railroad Avenue.
Last month, a trial run with an abbreviated schedule of 6 a.m. to noon was offered to see what kind of interest there was for this idea.
“It went great,” said Berwick Mayor Duval Arthur. “I estimate 100 people went across. I think that’s pretty good.”
A group of volunteers came out as well and cleaned up some of the trash, helping to beautify this piece of history that crosses the Atchafalaya River. Arthur said he saw them again at a local restaurant this week.
They’re from Bayou Vista and said they wanted to clean the bridge before the Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival.
Bridge the Gap is now planned to be every first Saturday of each month.
The bridge will be getting more attention soon. Both the La. 182 bridge and the U.S. 90 bridge have done deals for refurbishment.
Grizzaffi is “anticipating the refurbishment of both bridges with the new bridge starting very soon. This time next year the old bridge will be refurbished for the first time in many, many years.”