St. Tammany Parish leaders say, turning a portion of the old Twin Span Bridge into a new fishing pier is now closer to a reality.

"The first, and most important major hurdle has been overcome,” said Parish spokeswoman Suzanne Parsons-Stymiest. “The State Department of Transportation has given the parish permission to have 2,500 feet of the Twin Span, to turn into a fishing pier."

Twenty-five hundred feet is roughly a half mile. The first 600 feet of the old Twin Span will have to be torn down, to make way for the new Twin Span Bridge. The portion of the old Twin Span being donated is on the eastbound side, and begins at that 600 foot mark.  So St. Tammany Parish will have to build a ramp to get to the fishing pier.

The estimated cost of the project is between $1 million and $3 million. 

"It's not financially doable today or this week or even next year, but we're looking at several years before the Twin Spans are completed and we can even begin starting this project," said Parsons-Stymiest.

The new ramp could either come from the northern side of the bridge, or go under the new Twin Span from the southern side.

Oak Harbor homeowner Bob Beck has been pushing for the fishing pier idea since shortly after Katrina, and he says that, as projected, the fishing pier would be one of the best in the world."

Beck would rather build the ramp on the northern side, because there's more green space, where the parish could eventually build a park to go with parking.

Parish leaders expect to charge a fee to use the bridge with the money being used for operation and upkeep.  The bridge will be pedestrian only.

"We're going to be able to accommodate a lot of people.  It's going to go out into some of the best fishing that there is in Lake Ponchartrain,” said Parsons-Stymiest.