Maestri Bridge
| Maestri Bridge | |
| Spans | Lake Pontchartrain |
| Lanes | 1×2 |
| Total length | 7,690 meters |
| Main span | ? |
| Bridge deck height | ? |
| Opening | 18-02-1928 |
| Traffic intensity | 7,900 mvt/day |
| Location | Map |
According to Ablogtophone, the Maestri Bridge is a 7.7 kilometer girder bridge in the United States, located in the state of Louisiana, northeast of New Orleans.
Characteristics
The Maestri Bridge spans the eastern part of Lake Pontchartrain. The bridge is 7,690 meters long and is a low girder bridge with two bascule bridges as movable parts. The two-lane US 11 runs across the bridge from New Orleans to Slidell. The bridge is located about 20 kilometers northeast of New Orleans. East of the bridge, I-10 crosses the I-10 Twin Span Bridge. The Maestri Bridge therefore has no overriding importance. West of the bridge is the Norfolk Southern Lake Pontchartrain Bridge, the longest railroad bridge in the United States.
History
Originally, New Orleans was only accessible by land from the west, on roads parallel to the Mississippi River. One of the first modern roads was the Airline Highway US 61 to Baton Rouge. However, to the east and north there was no road connection, traffic had to go all the way around Lake Pontchartrain, and before 1927 also around Lake Maurepas, so that traffic from Slidell had to travel more than 200 kilometers for what was only 40 kilometers as the crow flies..
After the rise of the auto trails in the early 20th century and the takeover of road construction by the government shortly afterwards, the call for a road connection to New Orleans also grew. During that period, four routes were developed, the US 51 over a dam between Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas that was first completed in 1927, a bridge across Lake Pontchartrain, which was planned in 1924 but which was eventually closed for a long time. was developed, and an eastern link across the narrower straits of Lake Pontchartrain at Slidell.
Construction history
It was decided to build two connections to the east of Lake Pontchartrain, US 11 on a more direct route between New Orleans and Slidell, with a long bridge over open water, and the bridge to the east over Chef Menteur Pass, a narrower bridge. strait that lies at the exit of Lake Pontchartrain in the Gulf of Mexico. Construction of the long bridge was approved in 1925 and was originally known as the Watson-Williams Toll Bridge.
There was already some experience with bridge building across Lake Pontchartrain. As early as 1884, the Norfolk Southern Lake Pontchartrain Bridge opened. Two bascule bridges were chosen for the Maestri Bridge, with the northern one connecting to the movable part of the railway bridge, which is located right next to it. The Maestri Bridge was opened to traffic on February 18, 1928. It was also the longest concrete bridge in the world at the time.
Later developments
The bridge was a toll bridge but in 1930 the Chef Menteur Bridge of US 90 opened which was toll free. The toll bridge therefore went bankrupt after a year and was subsequently purchased by the state of Louisiana in 1938. Since 1939, US 11 has been routed over the bridge and the bridge is toll-free.
The bridge was relieved in the 1960s when the first I-10 Twin Span Bridge was opened. During Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Twin Span Bridge was largely destroyed, but the concrete bridge proved much sturdier and remained undamaged and handled through traffic for several months until the I-10 bridge was repaired. The bridge was renovated in 2012.
Naming
The bridge is named after Robert Maestri (1899-1974), the mayor of New Orleans between 1936 and 1946. Its original name was the Lake Pontchartrain Bridge, also known as the Watson-Williams Bridge, named after the bridge’s backers in the 1950s. ’20.
Traffic intensities
Every day 8,000 vehicles cross the Maestri Bridge.
Manchac Swamp Bridge
| Manchac Swamp Bridge | |
| Spans | Manchac Swamp |
| Lanes | 2×2 |
| Total length | 36,710 meters |
| Main span | ? |
| Bridge deck height | ? |
| Opening | 25-05-1979 |
| Traffic intensity | 20,000 mvt/day |
| Location | Map |
The Manchac Swamp Bridge is a 36.7 kilometer long girder bridge in the United States, located in the state of Louisiana.
Characteristics
Part of the Manchac Swamp Bridge.
The Manchac Swamp Bridge is a 36.7-kilometer girder bridge, part of Interstate 55 in Louisiana for traffic from New Orleans to Hammond and Jackson. The bridge spans the Manchac Swamp, a swamp area between Lake Pontchartrain to the east and Lake Maurepas to the west. The Old US Highway 51 runs parallel to the bridge over a slope. The bridge has 2×2 lanes and narrow emergency lanes and has two connections to the underlying road network. The bridge is toll-free as part of an Interstate Highway.
History
In the 1920s, US 51 was built on a slope through the Manchac Swamp. This swamp is located between Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas. This embankment was inaugurated in 1927, providing New Orleans with a shorter connection to and from the north.
This slope turned out to require a lot of maintenance because parts sank into the swamp. In addition, it was an ecological barrier to water flows. Between 1962 and 1964 the embankment was reconstructed to extend its life. For this reason, it was also decided not to build a second slope during the construction of I-55, but to realize I-55 as two parallel viaducts. This is the Manchac Swamp Bridge.
Construction of the bridge was the last stretch of I-55 in Louisiana. Construction started in November 1973 and was opened to traffic on 25 May 1979. When opened, it was the second longest road bridge in the world, after the nearby Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. Virtually all traffic on the bridge is long-haul as there is no space along the highway for 50 kilometers. US 51 was also subsequently moved from the viaduct to the Manchac Swamp Bridge.
Traffic intensities
About 20,000 vehicles use the bridge every day.
