Two years could pass before a Holiday Drive bridge over the de Gaulle drainage canal is reopened

Two years could pass before a Holiday Drive bridge over the Gen. de Gaulle Drive drainage canal is reopened.

The bridge, which was closed on Feb. 18, will be demolished and replaced, city officials have said.

Known as the James W. Hibben Memorial Bridge, it was built in 1958 and named for one of Algiers’ native sons, James “Shavey” Hibben, who died that year.

Click here to read our piece on Shavey Hibben.

Hibben Bridge is a vital crossing through the heart of Algiers commercial district. It’s closure will leave motorists scrambling for alternative routes for what ordinarily are simple trips to the grocery.

It’s closure is linked to the federally funded drainage canal improvement project. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has alerted the Algiers public for more than a year that the bridge would be closed once construction reached within 100 feet of the span. The Corps of Engineers says work on the drainage canal in the area around Holiday Drive could be completed in April. After that, the city decides what to do with the bridge.

New Orleans’ Department of Public Works, meanwhile, has said it would have the bridge demolished and replaced.

Our Streets NOLA plans to release more information about the bridge closure and replacement project as details are released.