Horace Wilkinson Bridge

Horace Wilkinson Bridge
Horace Wilkinson from the southeast
Coordinates	30°26′22.2″N 91°11′47.4″W / 30.439500°N 91.196500°W / 30.439500; -91.196500Coordinates: 30°26′22.2″N 91°11′47.4″W / 30.439500°N 91.196500°W / 30.439500; -91.196500
Carries	6 lanes of I-10
Crosses	Mississippi River
Locale	Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Other name(s)	The New Bridge, Mississippi River Bridge
Maintained by	LaDOTD
ID number	611704500900001
Characteristics
Design	Cantilever bridge
Total length	4,550 feet (1,387 m) (superstructure) 14,150 feet (4,313 m) (overall)
Width	80 feet (24 m)
Longest span	1,235 feet (376 m)
Clearance below	175 feet (53 m)
History
Construction cost	$46 million
Opened	April 10, 1968
Statistics
Daily traffic	107,000 (2005)
Horace Wilkinson Bridge Location in Louisiana

The Horace Wilkinson Bridge is a cantilever bridge carrying Interstate 10 in Louisiana across the Mississippi River from Port Allen in West Baton Rouge Parish to Baton Rouge in East Baton Rouge Parish. Around the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Area, the bridge is more commonly known as the "New Bridge" because it is the younger of the two bridges that cross the river in Baton Rouge. The structure begins at the Louisiana Highway 1 (LA 1) exit south of Port Allen. After the interstate crosses the superstructure, it remains an elevated viaduct up to the Dalrymple Drive exit to Louisiana State University. It is the highest bridge on the Mississippi River.

The bridge is named after three separate Horace Wilkinsons who served a total of 54 years in the Louisiana legislature. Horace Wilkinson, along with his son and grandson, were honored with the naming of the I-10 bridge by Act 206 of the Louisiana Legislature in 1968.

The bridge is notorious amongst many for daily backups stretching a few miles (several kilometers). Most traffic stems from the I-10/I-110 junction. Eastbound traffic is reduced from three lanes to one through lane and an exit lane to Washington Street around a sharp curve. Traffic must be cautious as traffic from I-110 South may cross all lanes of traffic to exit at Washington street, only ¹⁄₄ mile (0.40 km) away. Because of this junction and lack of shoulders along the entire bridge, traffic usually backs up to, at least, the LA 415 exit (Exit 151) and for two miles (3.2 km) along LA 1 northbound.

Westbound congestion occurs from slower traffic entering from the short transition zone of the St. Ferdinand Street entrance ramp and the narrowing of I-10 when it loses a lane to exit at LA 1.

In response, Sherri LeBas, secretary of the LA DOTD, said that as of November 2013, it was not looking at widening or modernizing the I-10/I-110 interchange, citing cost. Instead, the state will modernize LA 1 from I-10 to US-190 to encourage detours to the less-congested Huey Long Bridge.