The Danziger Bridge is a

vertical lift bridge A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck. The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and swin ...

that carries seven vehicular lanes of

U.S. Route 90 U.S. Route 90 or U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) is an east–west major United States highway in the Southern United States. Despite the "0" in its route number, US 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route. With the exception of a short-lived ...

(Chef Menteur Highway) across the

Industrial Canal The Industrial Canal is a 5.5 mile (9 km) waterway in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The waterway's proper name, as used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and on NOAA nautical charts, is Inner Harbor Navigation Canal ( IHNC). Th ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. Built to replace the old Danziger Bridge, a draw bridge constructed in 1931–1932, the current Danziger Bridge was constructed on the south side of the old bridge between 1983 and 1987 and officially opened in February 1988. Named after a New Orleans lawyer and businessman,Laura Maggi, ''Family members of Danziger Bridge's namesake say its name will resonate in history'', New Orleas Times-Picayune, Sept. 26, 2011. it became the widest lift bridge in the world. Most marine traffic is accommodated in the down position. Attorney Alfred Danziger, a member of a prominent New Orleans Jewish family, served as personal attorney for Governor

Huey Long Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "the Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination ...

as well as assistant attorney general in 1934 and executive counsel for Mayor

Robert Maestri Robert Sidney Maestri (December 11, 1899 – May 6, 1974) was mayor of New Orleans from 1936 to 1946 and a key ally of Huey P. Long Jr. and Earl Kemp Long. Early life Robert Maestri was born in New Orleans on December 11, 1899, the son of, ...

from 1936 to 1946.
, Blake Pontchartrain, "Why is the bridge over the Industrial Canal Called the Danziger Bridge," Bestofneworleans.com, Gambit, September 25, 2007. He was also a principal fundraiser for the

historically black Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. ...

Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of Ch ...

which was founded in 1930 by merging

Straight University Straight University, after 1915 Straight College, was a historically black college that operated between 1868 and 1934 in New Orleans, Louisiana. After struggling with financial difficulties, it was merged with New Orleans University to form ...

and other

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

serving institutions.
, "Chris Rose: Who was Alfred Danziger?", ProjectNOLA.com, August 3, 2011. In 2005, the bridge was the site of the Danziger Bridge shootings, in which two unarmed

civilians were killed by members of the

New Orleans Police Department The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) has primary responsibility for law enforcement in New Orleans, Louisiana. The department's jurisdiction covers all of Orleans Parish, while the city is divided into eight police districts. The NOPD has a ...

(NOPD.) Four (4) other civilians were also wounded.

References

{{Crossings navbox , structure = Crossings , place =

, bridge = Danziger Bridge , bridge signs = , upstream text = West , upstream = I-10 High Rise Bridge , upstream signs = , downstream text = East , downstream =

Seabrook Railroad Bridge The Seabrook Railroad Bridge is a bascule bridge in New Orleans, Louisiana running adjacent to the Seabrook Bridge. It is often confused with this vehicular bridge to the north, officially called the Senator Ted Hickey Bridge; therefore, it is c ...

, downstream signs = Bridges in New Orleans Vertical lift bridges in Louisiana U.S. Route 90 Bridges completed in 1988 Road bridges in Louisiana Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System 1988 establishments in Louisiana

See also

References