- Jul 12, 2018
- 9,805
| TYPE | Infrastructure |
| CLIENT | United States |
| PROJECT | Replacement of The Calcasieu River Bridge |
| PROJECT COST | 2,100,000,000.00 |
| COMPLETION DATE | 20/01/2025 |
| PROJECT INFORMATION | The Calcasieu River Bridge is the bridge that carriers Interstate 10 across the Calcasieu River in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The bridge opened in 1952 and was built to have a lifespan of 50 years. The bridge was designed to handle 32,000 cars per day, but today the bridge takes an average of almost 100,000 cars per day. The bridge is two years past its planned lifespan and will either need a significant investment to increase its lifespan, or it will need to be demolished and replaced. The United States, State of Louisiana, and City of Lake Charles have made an agreement to replace the bridge, with the Federal Government contributing 80% of the entire cost for the bridge. The design of the bridge will be similar to the Israel LaFleur Bridge which is also in Lake Charles. The new bridge will be designed to survive winds in excess of a Category 5 hurricane and will also take into account the extreme weather conditions of southern Louisiana. Also, the new bridge will have three lanes of traffic, plus a shoulder (AKA emergency lane), going both directions. The new bridge would only be 75 feet of clearance from the bottom of the deck to sea level, which is almost half of the current bridge that is 135 feet high. The new bridge is designed to have a lifespan of at least 55 years and to handle an average vehicle traffic of 200,000 vehicles per day. Slight modifications would also be made to Interstate 10 on either side of the new bridge (expanding it to three lanes) and other signage and on-ramp/exit changes so that interstate will meet all Interstate Highway standards currently held by the Federal Government in 2004. Because the new bridge will not have as significant of an incline as the old bridge, it will be able to handle higher truck traffic as well as vehicular traffic. It will be less prone to bottlenecking and, with the addition of a third lane, it will also be less likely to have bumper to bumper traffic as it now currently does most days during rush hour in the morning and especially in the evening. The project will conservatively save 10,000 hours of driving per day (assuming 100,000 vehicles cross per day) with even more time saved for future traffic increases. This will also benefit the local economy by allowing residents to return home earlier (or leave to get to work later) and also benefit local stores and restaurants that wouldn't otherwise receive business from residents that would normally be stuck in traffic. The old bridge was closed to vehicular traffic on October 1st, 2004 and the demolition process would begin in accordance with all OSHA and demolition standards for structures of that size in Louisiana and the United States in 2004. |
| ENCRYPTED | No |
