"TIMED" TO CROSS THE MISSISSIPPI

The TIMED (Transportation Infrastructure Model for Economic Development) Program in Louisiana is supporting the states economic development by investing in improvements to the transportation infrastructure. This article discusses how a portion of TIMEDs funding is allocated to three major bridge projects: the new St. Francisville Mississippi River Bridge, widening the Huey P. Long Mississippi River Bridge, and the new Florida Avenue Bridge over the Industrial Canal. The St. Francisville Mississippi River Bridge will be built using design-build, a process which is new to the Louisiana Department of Transportation (LADOTD) and is scheduled to save around 15 months from the original construction schedule. A four-lane cable stay bridge will serve as the main river crossing. A two-lane bridge and roadway approaches will lead up to the bridge. The Huey P. Long Mississippi River Bridge, one of the longest high-level railroad bridges in the U.S., is a cantilever truss bridge with two railroad tracks and four nine-foot vehicular traffic lanes. Supporting rail and vehicle traffic since 1935, the bridge has been declared to be structurally sound enough to accommodate additional widening. Two new parallel trusses will be added to support the widened roadway. When finished, the bridge will have three eleven-foot travel lanes, eight-foot outside shoulders, and two fee inside shoulders in each direction. In addition to the bridge projects, the TIMED Program also includes widening more than 550 miles of state highway, and funding improvement to the Port of New Orleans and Louis Armstrong International Airport.