Ceremony set for new bridge
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State highway authorities and area public officials plan to join on Tuesday morning in marking the opening of the new La. 1 bridge over Bayou Lafourche in Leeville.
Louisiana Transportation Secretary William Ankner; U.S. Rep. Charles Melancon, D-Napoleonville; area legislators and other officials are expected to speak at the event, which begins at 10:15 a.m., state highway officials said in a statement.
If there are no weather delays, the $161 million bridge will be opened to traffic later the same afternoon, Sherry Dupre, state Department of Transportation and Development spokeswoman, said Thursday.
The bridge is the first part of a $1.6 billion proposal to widen La. 1 south of Raceland and elevate it south of Golden Meadow to ensure highway access during hurricanes. About $302 million of that project has been funded, including the new bridge.
The state highway is important to the oil and gas industry, which relies on it for access to Port Fourchon, officials have said.
The port is a critical link to the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port about 18 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico. Together, the port and the LOOP service about 18 percent of the nation’s crude oil and natural gas supply.
State highway officials plan to use bridge tolls to pay off revenue bonds and a low-interest federal loan that helped fund construction of the bridge and its four miles of elevated approaches, officials said.
Dupre said the tolls, which will be collected electronically through the GeauxPass system, will not start until July 27, after the Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo.
In most cases, tolls will range from $2.50 for two-axle vehicles to $12 for 18-wheelers per southbound trip. The state highway department is giving toll discounts to Grand Isle residents and nonresidents who make frequent trips, according to a DOTD toll schedule.
Once the new bridge opens, Dupre said, work would begin on removing the adjacent “movable” bridge, which dates from 1969.
Clearance under the new bridge is 73 feet, and it does have not a drawbridge. Construction began in 2006.
The opening ceremony is planned at the north access ramp, 24173 La. 1, Leeville, across from Leeville Seafood, officials said.
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