“And in the surrounding areas of southern Mississippi and Alabama, the roads that ran through the country side were largely dirt roads”
Uh... I-10 was open right after the storm. I know because I drove from Gulfport,Ms to Mobile,Al that day. Paved the whole way.
Didn’t you have to detour at Pascagoula? IIRC, the east-bound bridge lost a section or two, or at least was damaged by floating barges.
My family from Slidell was staying with me north of Mobile and we made the trip back to the damage as soon as they let people back into Slidell three or four days later. The west-bound bridge was still converted to two-way traffic.