In the aftermath of the levee failures during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, many people took refuge from the flooding atop the bridge, and people from the severely flooded Lower Ninth Ward used it to get to the dry, high ground near the river on the upriver side of the bridge.
Following the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina's levee failures in 2005, many individuals sought shelter on top of the bridge to escape the flooding, while those from the severely affected Lower Ninth Ward utilized it as a means to reach higher ground near the river on the opposite bank.