HUEY P. LONG BRIDGE – Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
Completed in 1935 and named after the former Louisiana Governor, the Huey P. Long Bridge is one of three major Mississippi River crossings serving the Greater New Orleans area.
The Huey P. Long Widening Project was a Design-Bid-Build project performed in several phases. GEC was one-third partner in the LTM Joint Venture (JV) that was charged by the LADOTD to perform constructability reviews, preparation and analysis of estimates, change orders, project schedules, delay impact and claim reviews, shop drawing reviews, daily construction engineering and inspection, and quality assurance (QA) of this massive project. GEC had as many as 21 inspectors assigned to the project, many specializing in steel fabrication, bridge construction, asphalt and concrete paving, and structural steel erection. This project required the coordination with several agencies, including Levee Districts, Jefferson Parish, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Coast Guard. In addition, as part of the LTM JV, GEC assisted in managing an extensive and award-winning public outreach program to keep the traveling public informed.
The project resulted in widening the bridge from two narrow lanes to three 11-foot travel lanes in each direction, with the addition of inside and outside shoulders. The construction plans called for no additional pier foundations for the main river bridge, but rather widening of pier shafts above the existing caisson foundations. The plans required the addition of two new parallel trusses to accommodate the widened roadway along the main bridge. For the approaches, new parallel structures were built to accommodate the new roadways.
Nearly 50,000 vehicles a day travel across the bridge, and river traffic averages more than 6,000 vessels each year. LADOTD, GEC, and LTM Joint Venture members were committed to maintaining all traffic, including rail, roadway, and river throughout the project. The project in itself had been an engineering feat, but the true conquest was maintaining traffic during construction. Lane closures and traffic slowing had been necessary, but there was no option for closing the bridge.
Design and construction was $1,005 million.
