City to cut ribbon on Point Cadet fishing bridge Tuesday

The city will cut a ribbon to formally open the Point Cadet fishing bridge to the public on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.

Mayor A.J. Holloway, members of City Council and others who have played a key role in the $9 million project will gather for a brief ceremony at the foot of the bridge, which is at the easternmost end of Howard Avenue, adjacent to the Palace Casino, on Point Cadet. Rev. Greg Barras of St. Michael Catholic Church will deliver an invocation and bless the bridge, which is actually a 4,700-foot long concrete pier.

Although contractors have been working to repair some of the overhead lights on the bridge, anxious anglers have been allowed to use the pier over the weekend.

City crews were expected to install trash cans along the pier.

The pier will be open ’round the clock, but there are no plans to install portable restrooms.

Speed limit on the pier is 10 mph, and there is no swimming or jumping from the bridge.

The new fishing pier replaces a popular fishing spot that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The project has faced several delays. Weather has been the biggest factor.

The new structure is nearly 4,700 feet long, which is about 200 feet shorter than the Katrina-destroyed bridge, but it is wider and offers overhead lights to illuminate the pier itself and adjoining waters. The lights also will improve nighttime fishing.

The pier features two 11-foot vehicle lanes bordered by two five-foot, ADA-accessible sidewalks; and vehicle turnarounds at the halfway point and at the end of the bridge.

See the photos: To see photos of the fishing bridge as it looked days after Katrina, along with renderings of the proposed new bridge, and how that bridge looked this morning, click here.