Huey P. Long Bridge (Baton Rouge)

Huey P. Long Bridge
Huey P. Long Bridge from the southwest
Coordinates30°30′25″N 91°11′51″W / 30.50694°N 91.19750°W / 30.50694; -91.19750
Carries4 lanes of US 190
1 Canadian Pacific Kansas City rail line
CrossesMississippi River
LocaleBaton Rouge, Louisiana
Official nameHuey P. Long - O.K. Allen Bridge
Other name(s)Old Bridge
Maintained byLouisiana Department of Transportation and Development[1]
ID number611700071000001
Characteristics
DesignCantilever truss bridge
Total length5,879 feet (1,792 m)
Clearance below113 feet (34 m)
History
Construction cost$8.4 million[2]
OpenedAugust 1940
Statistics
Daily traffic17,300
Location
Map

The Huey P. Long - O.K. Allen Bridge (locally known as the Old Bridge) is a truss cantilever bridge over the Mississippi River carrying US 190 (Airline Highway) and one rail line between East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana and West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.

Although the bridge is named after former Louisiana governors Huey P. Long and Oscar K. Allen, it is known locally in the Baton Rouge Area as "the old bridge".[3]

It was the only bridge across the Mississippi in Baton Rouge from its opening until April 1968, when the Horace Wilkinson Bridge ("the new bridge") carrying Interstate 10 opened. Until 2011, when the John James Audubon Bridge opened between St. Francisville and New Roads, it was the last bridge crossing the Mississippi before the Natchez-Vidalia Bridge, almost 100 miles to the north.

  1. ^ "Huey P. Long Bridge Widening".
  2. ^ Will Sentel (December 3, 2013), Old bridge getting new look, The Advocate, archived from the original on August 10, 2014, retrieved August 7, 2014
  3. ^ "Paint Party". The Riverside Reader. [Port Allen, LA] October 1, 2012. Pg. 1. Print