The town of Mandeville was primarily a retreat for wealthy New Orleanians who spent their summers on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain to avoid the heat of the city and the threat of malaria, which was rampant in New Orleans during summer months. With the opening of the first span of the 24 mile Causeway Bridge in 1956 and a second span in 1969, the area rapidly expanded as a bedroom community. A 2006 real estate survey has estimated the population of Mandeville, Louisiana at 12,158.