Bonnie halts Katrina Cut project

DAUPHIN ISLAND, Alabama (WALA) - As Bonnie enters the Gulf of Mexico, those on Dauphin Island are watching her every move.

She has been downgraded from a tropical storm to a tropical depression, but is expected to pick up speed once she's all the way into the Gulf of Mexico.

Mayor Jeff Collier says work on the Katrina Cut has been halted, and BP has been moving much of its equipment off the island. A BP official said they will have all of it's equipment out by 8:00 Friday night.

"They did tell me work had been ceased but only because it was so they could get their equipment out of the way. They like to do that at least 48 hours ahead of a potential storm," Collier said.

Collier isn't getting stressed about Bonnie, but he said there are some areas of concern.

"Our main concern is the west end of the island where we've put up our sand protective barriers. We've left the gaps open so people can access their driveways and it may force us at some point to close those gaps," Collier said.

Collier said they will be watching the swells and the tide times.

"We're going to have to monitor this thing through the weekend," added Collier.

The good thing is, it doesn't seems Bonnie isn't going to be a strong storm. Collier is hoping for no major flooding and BP to be back at work as soon as possible.

Collier said about a thousand feet of Katrina Cut has been closed off, but considering it is about a mile and a quarter wide, BP still has a way to go.

The boom on the south side of the island is being removed, but the boom of the north side will stay.

They mayor says in regards to the sand barricades, if it comes to the point where they need to close the gaps, they will go door-to-door and let residents know. He says they can be completely closed in a matter of hours.