Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge
I-310 Mississippi River Crossing At New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana

Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge

• Structure ID: NBI: 024504503700001.
• Location: River Mile 121.6.
• River Elevation: 0 Feet (Sea Level).
• Highway: I-310.
• Daily Traffic Count: 37,500 (2003).
• Bridge Type: Cable Stay Suspended Deck.
• Length: 10,700 Feet Overall,
1,234 Foot Main Span,
2,744 Foot Main Structure.
• Width: 76 Feet, 4 Lanes, 2 Shoulders, 1 Divider.
• Navigation Channel Width: 1,200 Foot Clear Channel.
• Height Above Water: 155 Feet.
• Date Built: Opened October 6, 1983.
Also called the Luling Bridge, a nearby city, the Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge is the first major cable stay bridge built in the US. It is somewhat unusual for a cable stay in that is has very few cables, and the deck is more of a box girder than a suspended deck.

Hale Boggs was a US Congressman from Louisiana. The bridge itself was built to survive hurricane force wind, which was demonstrated when Katrina hit in 2005. My first visit to New Orleans to photograph this bridge did not turn out since it was raining so very hard. It was also raining this time around, but the rain let up just enough right about sunset for me to take a few photos. It was actually darker than these photos might suggest, which is a tribute to the amazing light gathering capabilities of a digital SLR camera (as opposed to the Kodak instamatic digital camera that I have used for most of this project). Finally, on my third visit to this bridge, I was able to see some sunshine (note the final picture below).


Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge
Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge
Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge
Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge
Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge
Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge

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Photo and text by John A. Weeks III, Copyright © 2005, all rights reserved.
For further information, contact: john@johnweeks.com