Weight Watcher: Monitoring System on Huey P. Long Bridge Will Track Load Transfer

This article describes the construction project to widen the Huey P. Long Bridge over the Mississippi River in Jefferson Parish, New Orleans. Operating since 1935, it is a cantilevered steel through-truss bridge that carries rail lines and vehicular traffic. This project is part of the Transportation Infrastructure Model for Economic Development (TIMED), established in 1989. Dimensions of the bridge are given, along with major structural components. It serves about 50,000 vehicles, in addition to the rail traffic, daily. Truss members will be equipped with more than 800 static and dynamic straight gauges to measure axial and bending load effects. Inclination of the piers will also be monitored. Additional monitoring will be done for temperature, dead-load stresses, and other elements to track the condition of the various bridge elements while construction is underway. Installation of the monitoring system expected to be done by mid-2008.