Hurricane Isaac damage repaired
After taking a beating at the hands of Hurricane Isaac in August 2012, one of the most-popular fishing destinations along the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain is reopening to the public. The Mandeville fishing pier, which is one of the few easily accessed fishing spots for non-boaters in the New Orleans area, was scheduled to reopen in mid-June after nearly 10 months of closure, according to the city’s Department of Public Works.
The 400-foot pier extends into Lake Pontchartrain at the foot of the Causeway, and has proven to be a destination of choice for St. Tammany Parish anglers and others from the surrounding communities.
Anglers catch specks, redfish, black drum, sheepshead and flounder, as well as a bevy of white trout, according to recent reports.
Repairs to the facility cost just shy of an estimated $350,000. FEMA was scheduled to pay 75 percent of that total, with the city picking up the rest of the tab.
The pier opened to much fanfare in April 2005, as it was the first new structure of its kind on the North Shore.
Hurricane Katrina, which followed in August of the same year, was not kind to the pier, however. It, along with Sunset Point Park, which provides access to the fishing pier, sustained heavy damage in that ravaging storm.
The Mandeville pier reopened in 2007, but was closed again when Isaac pounded the pier with wave action that took out flooring, handrails and fences near the structure.
A parish pier that opened south of Slidell last May remains closed due to heavy damage sustained during Isaac’s landfall. That pier is not expected to reopen until 2014, parish officials recently said.
