the Huey P. Long bridge (1 Viewer)

Going from the Westbank to Eastbank, I especially like small move to the left just as you get across the river, near the top. Almost seems like the 2 sides didn't meet up straight as it was being built. It's odd.

That's EXACTLY what that is!
 
I drove from Houston to New Orleans this past weekend. Because of traffic on I-10 in Baton Rouge, we crossed the river on the old bridge on Hwy 190. Interestingly, that bridge is also names the Huey P. Long bridge, and also has 2 narrow lanes, and has a train trestle running through the middle of it. I guess I should look up to see if they were built identically on purpose.
 
for those that don't know yet, construction has started
 
I drove from Houston to New Orleans this past weekend. Because of traffic on I-10 in Baton Rouge, we crossed the river on the old bridge on Hwy 190. Interestingly, that bridge is also names the Huey P. Long bridge, and also has 2 narrow lanes, and has a train trestle running through the middle of it. I guess I should look up to see if they were built identically on purpose.

Hah! I crossed that bridge on my motorcycle recently and thought the exact thing! I like the one in Baton Rouge better.
 
yea it is going to be nice once it is done (but that is going to be a while)
 
i should mention, for folks that have never been on that bridge, that it is presently a scary ride for many people......the lanes are barely wide enough for even a average size vehicle.....so, imagine bumping mirros with SUVs on one side, and a concrete curb on the other, at 50mph

Agreed, kind of scary driving on that bridge. I try to avoid it when I'm in New Orleans.
 
any louisiana history buffs know about an unfinished Miss. River bridge? i vaguely remember a middle school teacher of mine telling the class about how Gov. Huey P. Long had so many road projects that some bridge was being built to cross at a pointless location, and that it was stopped before completion. he said something about the supports being built but with no upramps.

ive searched the internet a lot with no luck.

Perhaps some river parish folks can help me out with this, but this sounds like like the Gramercy Bridge, but that was done under several more recent administrations, mostly under Edwards. I know that at one point, the main span (the part including the steel truss superstructure), was built over the river and had been completed, but the pillar-supported upramps were not started or completed until sometime later. At one point in the early 1990s the Times-picayune had a picture of it like that; it looked FREAKY. The upramps were completed and the bridge opened for traffic in 1995.

Still it remained "a bridge to nowhere" up until just last summer, when you went to the west bank, you had to make a "u-turn", as the bridge only connected to River Road on that side (see below picture). It has now connected to LA 3127, the major route on the west bank of the river.
 

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since when did the Huey P have 3 lanes on each side? last i recall it only had 2 lanes on each side.
 

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