Two 27m-long sections were destroyed after being struck by the tug, which was pushing eight gravel barges. The City of Biloxi is leading efforts to return the bridge to use, working with the support of Mississippi Department of Transportation.

Biloxi's mayor AJ Holloway said that the city plans to follow the same repair plan that saw the bridge repaired less than four months after Katrina.

"I want to count the repair time in days, not weeks or months, and I'd like to get that bridge back up and running in 60 days or less," he said on Saturday.

Holloway has been pushing for a new, wider bridge for more than a decade and said that he hoped the latest accident could help speed up the project. The current two-lane structure stands 9.8m above the water and must open at least 10 times a day for marine traffic.