A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on Thursday, September 24, to celebrate the completion of the Judson Walsh Bridge replacement project.
The bridge was closed indefinitely in 2018 after inspections showed that the support structures were found to be severely eroded.
It was nothing but friendly smiles all day Thursday as drivers used the bridge for the first time since 2018.
"It means a lot to the community, it put a lot of people out of their way as it was shut down," Michael Fontenot said.
Fontenot works only one mile from his house, but while the bridge was closed, his commute to work took 15 minutes.
"This is a short cut, it saves a lot of time," Fontenot added.
In November 2019, construction finally began to fix those issues.
Governor John Bel Edwards and LaDOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson joined state and local officials at the 9:00 am event held at the MedExpress building in Opelousas.
The bridge, which sits between I-49 and LA-182, was heavily used by residents, school buses and other drivers.
Construction was expected to be completed by mid 2020.
See video of the ribbon cutting event below:
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