John James Audubon Bridge (Mississippi River)
| John James Audubon Bridge | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Coordinates | 30°43′13.32″N 91°21′5.36″W / 30.7203667°N 91.3514889°W |
| Carries | 4 lanes of  LA 10
|
| Crosses | Mississippi River |
| Locale | Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana |
| Maintained by | LaDOTD |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Cable-stayed bridge |
| Total length | 12,883 ft (3,927 m) |
| Width | 75.8 ft (23.1 m) |
| Height | 520 ft (158 m) |
| Longest span | 1,583 ft (482 m) |
| Clearance below | 65 ft (20 m) minimum at HWL (High Water Level); the MHWL (Mean High Water Level) clearance is 76.2 ft (23.2 m); the LWL (Low Water Level) clearance is 116.1 ft (35.4 m) |
| History | |
| Construction cost | $409 million |
| Opened | May 5, 2011 |
The John James Audubon Bridge, completed and opened in 2011, is a Mississippi River crossing between Pointe Coupee and West Feliciana parishes in south central Louisiana. The bridge has the second longest cable-stayed span (distance between towers) in the Western Hemisphere at 1,583 ft (482 m), after Mexico's Baluarte Bridge with a 1,706 ft (520 m) span, and has a total length of 12,883 ft (3,927 m)—nearly three-and-a-half times longer than the Baluarte Bridge's 3,688 ft (1,124 m) total length. The Audubon Bridge replaces the ferry between the communities of New Roads and St. Francisville. The bridge also serves as the only bridge structure on the Mississippi River between Natchez, Mississippi and Baton Rouge, Louisiana (approximately 90 river miles). The bridge conveys Louisiana Highway 10, which is in a concurrence there with the Zachary Taylor Parkway.
The Audubon Bridge corridor includes:
The bridge became officially connected across the Mississippi River on Wednesday, December 29, 2010. Completion for public use was not expected until June 2011; however, the bridge was opened on May 5, 2011 due to rising water levels on the Mississippi River, which had forced the closure of the ferry connection. The bridge is equipped with special finger type sliding joints in order to accommodate large movements between the decks. The 24-ton joints were designed by mageba, an international civil engineering firm, and allow a movement of 49 in (1.24 m).
The project was constructed by Audubon Bridge Constructors, a joint venture of Flatiron Construction, Granite Construction and Parsons Transportation Group. The construction manager was Louisiana TIMED Managers, a joint venture of GEC, Inc., PB Americas, Inc., and LPA Group Incorporated. Upon completion, ownership of the bridge was turned over to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.
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