METAIRIE, LA (AP) — An engineer has recommended a steel double rail should be installed along the southbound side of the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway to significantly improve the bridge's safety.
The New Orleans Advocate’s Faimon A. Roberts III reports that William Williams of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute told the commission on Wednesday that the current railing in place is too low to prevent pickup trucks and SUVs from going over the side of the bridge.
Williams says a double rail would keep vehicles as big as a large moving truck from plunging into the water.
The commission has been unsuccessful so far in applying for federal grants to help pay for officials say could become a nine-figure price tag.
Since 1994, there have been 14 accidents on the causeway in which vehicles went over the side.
