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The longest cable-stay bridge in Western Hemisphere opens
In January, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DODT) officially opened the John James Audubon Bridge over the Mississippi River. The only bridge over the river in the 90 miles between Baton Rouge, La., and Natchez, Miss., the Audubon also is the longest cable-stay bridge in the Western Hemisphere.
The Audubon Bridge was built to provide a river crossing between West Feliciana Parish/St. Francisville and Point Coupee Parish/New Roads, an area previously served only by ferry. The bridge improves evacuation route options, offers better north-south access for the trucking industry, and connects the nearby communities like never before. “The Audubon Bridge is a great asset to both the communities of West Feliciana and Pointe Coupee,” says St. Francisville Mayor Billy D’Aquilla. “The two communities, having different cultures, will now be able to grow economically together and support one another.”
- Program manager: Louisiana TIMED Managers, a joint venture of New York-based Parsons Brinckerhoff, Columbia, S.C.-based LPA Group, and Baton Rouge, La.-based GEC
- Design-builder: Audubon Bridge Constructors, a joint venture of Firestone, Colo.-based Flatiron Corp., Watsonville, Calif.-based Granite Construction, and Pasadena, Calif.-based Parsons Transportation Group
- Date completed: January 2012
- Cost: $408 million
