State transportation officials move bridge project completion date up 4 months
The years long, $1.2 billion Huey P. Long Bridge project is finally nearing an end.
State Transportation Secretary Sherri LeBas announced Tuesday the bridge will be fully open to drivers on June 16, 2013, about four months ahead of schedule.
Drivers began using two new lanes on the bridge in April 2012 so that the old lanes could be removed and the new lanes expanded to their final width on the bridge.
The bridge is being widened from two narrow lanes to three lanes with shoulders in each direction.
"We're going from the old, narrow 18 feet wide in each direction to more than 43 feet wide in each direction, more than doubling the width of the bridge," says Shane Peck with the La. TIMED Program, which is helping to manage the project.
"About 50,000 vehicles a day use the bridge, and when it is completed, the bridge will be able to handle at least 100,000 vehicles per day," Peck said.
