Israel LaFleur Bridge

Israel LaFleur Bridge
Spanning Calcasieu Ship Channel and Prien Lake
Coordinates30°12′06″N 93°16′49″W / 30.2017°N 93.2804°W / 30.2017; -93.2804
Carries I-210
CrossesCalcasieu Ship Channel
LocaleLake Charles, Louisiana
Official nameIsrael LaFleur Bridge
Other name(s)I-210 Bridge
Maintained byLDOT
History
Opened1962
Statistics
TollFree both ways
Location
Map

The Israel LaFleur Bridge is a concrete pillar vehicular bridge located in the city of Lake Charles, Louisiana. The bridge was built in 1962 as part of Interstate 210 (Lake Charles Loop; a highway expansion that travels over the Calcasieu River, south of Lake Charles, and back up to Interstate 10). It is named after Israel LaFleur, who spearheaded the project to build it.[1]

The bridge is about 8,500 feet (2,600 m) long, and 140 feet (43 m) high. It is one of the tallest structures in southwest Louisiana.

The bridge survived the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Rita. The bridge's structural rating is 96%, even after surviving two major hurricanes and being sixty years old.[citation needed]

  1. ^ "4/16/03: Roy and Pearl LaFleur - KPLC 7 News, Lake Charles, Louisiana". Kplctv.com. Retrieved 29 July 2017.