The Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge (also known as the Luling Bridge) is a
cable-stayed bridge
A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern ...
over the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
in
St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. It is named for the late United States Congressman
Hale Boggs
Thomas Hale Boggs Sr. (February 15, 1914 – disappeared October 16, 1972; declared dead December 29, 1972) was an American Democratic politician and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was the House ma ...
.
With a total length of , it is one of the
longest bridges in the world
This is a list of the world's longest bridges that are more than in length sorted by their full length above land and water. The main span is the longest span without any ground support.
'' Note: There is no standard way to measure the total l ...
.
History
The bridge originally named the Luling–Destrehan Bridge was dedicated by Governor
David C. Treen
David Conner Treen Sr. (July 16, 1928 – October 29, 2009) was an American politician and attorney at law (United States), attorney from Louisiana. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Treen served as United State ...
and
Bishop Stanley Ott of
Baton Rouge and opened to traffic on October 6, 1983 connecting
Louisiana Highway 18
Louisiana Highway 18 (LA 18) is a state highway that serves Ascension, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Charles, and Jefferson Parishes. Called the Great River Road, it runs from west to east, parallel to the west bank of the Mississippi R ...
on the West Bank and
Louisiana Highway 48
Louisiana Highway 48 (LA 48) is a state highway in Louisiana that serves St. Charles and Jefferson Parishes. It runs from west to east, parallel to the east bank of the Mississippi River, from Norco to Jefferson. It spans a total of . Throug ...
on the East Bank. The dedication even featured a Louisiana political stunt. During Governor David Treen's address, an airplane flew over the site with a trailing banner emblazoned with "Edwards Did It", a nod to the fact that much of the bridge's construction took place during the terms of 4-time Louisiana Governor,
Edwin W. Edwards, who was in the midst of a
successful campaign to regain the governor's office from Treen.
The Hale Boggs Bridge was the third major
cable-stayed bridge
A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern ...
in the United States after the 1,255-foot
John O'Connell Bridge
The John O'Connell Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge over the Sitka Channel located in Sitka, Alaska. The bridge connects the town of Sitka on Baranof Island to the airport and Coast Guard Station on Japonski Island. Until the bridge was completed i ...
of
Sitka, Alaska (the United States' first vehicular cable-stayed girder spanned bridge) and the
Pasco-Kennewick Bridge or
Ed Hendler Bridge
The Cable Bridge, officially called the Ed Hendler Bridge and sometimes called the Intercity Bridge, spans the Columbia River between Pasco, Washington, Pasco and Kennewick, Washington, Kennewick in southeastern Washington (state), Washington as W ...
in Washington. The Hale Boggs Bridge was the first cable-stayed bridge to be built across the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
. In 1993, it was incorporated into the newly completed
Interstate 310, making it the first cable-stayed bridge in the
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...
. Upon completion of
Interstate 49
Interstate 49 (I-49) is a north–south Interstate Highway that exists in multiple segments: the original portion entirely within the state of Louisiana with an additional signed portion extending from I-220 in Shreveport to the Arkansas st ...
,
I-310 and the Hale Boggs Bridge will serve as a connection between
I-49 and
Interstate 10 on the western edge of metropolitan
.
Design
The superstructure and West approaches of the Hale Boggs Bridge were designed by the prime consultant, Frankland and Leinhard of New York, NY (E. Stanley Jarosz, Vice-president & Chief Engineer, & Myron Lepkaluk, President). The James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation recognized Jarosz's and Frankland & Leinhard's design achievement with a major award in the year the bridge was completed.
[Interview with E. Stanley Jarosz, 25 December 2012] The foundations of the main span and the East approaches were designed by Modjeski and Masters of Harrisburg, PA. Original construction was by a team headed by Williams Brothers Construction Co, Inc.
The Hale Boggs's design features an unpainted
weathering steel
Weathering steel, often referred to by the genericised trademark COR-TEN steel and sometimes written without the hyphen as corten steel, is a group of steel alloys which were developed to eliminate the need for painting, and form a stable r ...
tower
A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures.
Towers are specifi ...
s and
superstructure, an
orthotropic steel box girder superstructure, and two planes of cables in a fan pattern. Weathering steel exhibits uniform oxidation or "rusting" that results in a uniform protective patina and reduces maintenance requirements. The bridge's weathered bronze color is intended to blend with the muddy waters of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
.
The prefabricated cables, the Swiss manufacturer of which was selected by Williams Brothers Construction Co., Inc.
featured a heavy polyethylene sheathing that began cracking even before installation, leading to moisture intrusion and cable deterioration. There were additional problems with rust and water leakage in the anchorages.
A project to replace the cables began in summer 2009.
MV George Prince ferry disaster
The bridge was under construction on October 20, 1976 when the
Luling–Destrehan Ferry The Luling–Destrehan Ferry was a ferry across the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana, connecting Luling and Destrehan. The ferry was one of three routes then operated by the Louisiana Department of Highways, District 2. The others ...
, M/V ''George Prince'', was struck by the tanker
SS ''Frosta'' while crossing the river from
Destrehan to
Luling; the same communities connected by this bridge.
Seventy-three passengers and five crew members perished when the ferry capsized; only eighteen survived. It was later revealed all five crew members, including pilot Egidio "Gene" Auletta Sr., were impaired to varying degrees by alcohol consumption. There is a memorial on the East Bank in Destrehan to honor all the people who died in the disaster.
Events
The United Way of St. Charles hosts its annual 5K/10K Bridge Run over the Hale Boggs Bridge each Spring. Runners & walkers begin on the East Bank of the Mississippi River and finish at the West Bank Bridge Park. 2013's event was held on April 6, 2013.
The United Way of St. Charles also hosts its annual "Battle For The Paddle", a jambalaya & gumbo cookoff, each Fall. This event is held under the Hale Boggs Bridge at the West Bank Bridge Park.
Special Events - United Way of St. Charles
/ref>
Gallery
File:Haleboggsbridge.jpg, Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge
File:NO Bridge.jpg, Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge-Daytime
File:Destrehan bridge.jpg, Crossing the Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge
See also
*
*
*
* List of bridges in the United States
This list of bridges in the United States is organized by state and includes notable bridges (both existing and destroyed) in the United States. There are more than 600,000 bridges in the U.S.List of crossings of the Lower Mississippi River
This is a list of bridges and other crossings of the Lower Mississippi River from the Ohio River downstream to the Gulf of Mexico. Locations are listed with the left bank (moving downriver) listed first.
Crossings
See also
*List of crossings ...
* List of longest bridges
This is a list of the world's longest bridges that are more than in length sorted by their full length above land and water. The main span is the longest span without any ground support.
'' Note: There is no standard way to measure the total l ...
References
*Podolny, W. Jr., and Scalzi, J. B., Construction & Design of Cable-Stayed Bridges, John Wiley & Son, New York, NY, 1976.
* Cable-Stayed Bridges: Theory and Design ( / 0-258-97034-0) Troitsky, M S
*ASCE, Bridge (discusses the Luling Bridge), Civil Engineering, ASCE American Society of Civil Engineers
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
, 31, July 1984.
* ENR, Stayed -Girders Reaches Record (discusses the Luling Bridge), Engineering News Record, McGraw Hill, New York, NY, April 8, 1982,
*Mangus, Alfred, "A Fresh Look at Orthotropic Technology," ''Public Roads'', The US Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, www.tfhrc.gov March / April 2005, Washington, D.C., pp. 38–45.
*Troitsky, M. S., Orthotropic Bridges — Theory and Design, 2nd ed., The James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation, Cleveland, OH, 1987.
;Specific
External links
LA DOTD website
{{Crossings navbox
, structure = Crossings
, place = Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
, bridge = Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge
, bridge signs =
, upstream = Gramercy Bridge
, upstream signs = {{Jct, state=LA, LA, 3213
, downstream = Huey P. Long Bridge
, downstream signs =
''New Orleans Public Belt''
Cable-stayed bridges in the United States
Bridges over the Mississippi River
Bridges completed in 1983
Bridges on the Interstate Highway System
Buildings and structures in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana
Road bridges in Louisiana
Transportation in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana
Tourist attractions in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana
Interstate 10
Box girder bridges in the United States
Steel bridges in the United States