In 1989, the Louisiana State Legislature realized that they were going to have to make some significant improvements in their transportation infrastructure if the state was to remain competitive in the year 2010. To meet the challenge, they established the TIMED program, which took a 4-cent per gallon tax on every gallon of fuel and oil that was sold in the state. This money was set aside to pay for major projects that would otherwise not be funded. The program is slated to raise over $4-billion during its lifetime.

The John James Audubon bridge will connect New Roads, Louisiana, with Saint Francisville, Louisiana. The project includes this 2.44-mile long cable stayed bridge and approximately 12 miles of 2-lane highway. The cost is expected to be about $350-million, and it will be complete mid-2010.

Nearly everything about this project is big. The bridge features 12,883 feet of elevated roadway including a 1,583-foot long suspended span. That span makes this a world-class bridge. The traffic deck will carry 4 lanes of traffic in 11-foot wide lanes. Each roadway will include an 8-foot wide outside shoulder and a 2-foot wide inner shoulder. Despite the project covering over 12 miles, the price is very reasonable. As a comparison, the new I-35W bridge in Minneapolis cost $300-million, but has a river span that is only 1/3 as long. The Audubon bridge is planned to have 65-feet of clearance under the main span. This is the first bridge heading northbound on the Mississippi River that will have less than 100 feet of headroom above the river. The reason is that ocean-going vessels cannot travel north on the river above Baton Rouge, and barge tows do not need the 100-foot clearance.

While neither of the two cities in question are large or well known, the area along the Mississippi River is heavily industrialized, and further out, there is extensive farming. The current ferry river crossing is often somewhat unreliable, with the only other option being a round-trip to Baton Rouge. It is expected that the new bridge and access roads will spur additional development in this area.

John James Audubon is a naturalist and artist who lived from 1785 to 1851. His work ‘Birds of America’ is a landmark work in both the field of ornithology and as a great work of art. Audubon has inspired nearly everyone who has since gone bird watching or is interested in wildlife art. Thirty-two of his paintings from Birds of America were painting while residing in Saint Francisville in 1821.

Note—renderings are from the Louisiana TIMED Program (www.audubonbridge.com), and are copyrighted by the Louisiana TIMED Managers (2006). The rendering above is a view of the downriver face of the main river span looking towards the northwest.

These two renderings were made available by the project manager. The rendering above is a view of the south face of the structure looking to the north. The rendering below is a view from a vehicle crossing the bridge. The cable stayed bridge is a more efficient use of materials than other bridge styles used in Louisiana in the past. It is also easier to construct and leads to less disruption to the environment.

These two photos are views of the Saint Francisville New Roads Ferry. The photo above is a view from the ferry landing looking south towards the location of the future Audubon Bridge. Note the powerplant smokestacks on the right side of the photo, and compare their location to the rendering at the top of the page. The photo below is the ferry boat. The ferry was closed on the day that I visited, which is one of the problems with the ferry system. Another issue is the long and winding road that leads to the ferry landing.