It has been more than five years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast region. In a new video – Recovery Road: Rebuilding After Hurricane Katrina – the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials explores the hard-fought progress being made to restore infrastructure in and around the city of New Orleans. Louisiana sustained an estimated $1.2 billion in transportation infrastructure losses. Among the major reconstruction projects was the $800 million Interstate-10 twin spans bridge replacement over Lake Pontchartrain.

“We were faced with an unprecedented crisis,” said Sherri LeBas, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. “Many of our workers lost their homes and stayed in temporary shelters as they worked to clear roads to isolated communities, replace collapsed bridges, and repair hundreds of miles of roadway damaged by massive flooding. The Louisiana Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway and private contractors formed a strong partnership to get the work done and we’ve demonstrated how a region can rebuild and thrive.”

LeBas and others involved in the reconstruction share their experiences in the video, which highlights some of the many accomplishments that have taken place in and around New Orleans. Click here to view the 7-minute video.