Gramercy Bridge

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Gramercy Bridge

Official name	Veterans Memorial Bridge
Carries	4 lanes of LA 3213
Crosses	Mississippi River
Locale	Gramercy, Louisiana and St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana
Maintained by	LADOTD
Design	Cantilever bridge
Total length	945.2 meters (3,101 feet)
Width	4 lanes
Clearance below	50.3 meters (165 feet)
Opening date	1995
Coordinates	30.048° N 90.675° W

The Veterans Memorial Bridge, also known as the Gramercy Bridge, is a truss bridge over the Mississippi River connecting Gramercy, Louisiana in St. James Parish with St. John the Baptist Parish. This is the newest Mississippi River bridge in Louisiana, one of many built to replace the ferry system following a 1976 accident that killed 78 when a ferry sunk after being struck by a ship.^[1] While the Veterans Memorial Bridge has not transformed the local economy as extensively as its upriver cousin, the Sunshine Bridge, the farming industry has benefitted from the quicker river crossing.^{[citation needed]}

Louisiana Highway 3213
Length:	3.79[2] mi (6.10 km)
South end:	LA 18
Major junctions:	LA 44 near Gramercy
North end:	LA 641 near Gramercy
Highways in Louisiana < Image:LA 3212.PNG LA 3212 LA 3214 Image:LA 3214.PNG >

The bridge and its approaches are Louisiana Highway 3213 (LA 3213), which runs 3.79 miles (6.10 km) from Louisiana Highway 18 on the west bank north over the bridge, past an interchange with Louisiana Highway 44, to its terminus at Louisiana Highway 641.^[2] (LA 641 continues north across U.S. Highway 61 (Airline Highway) to Interstate 10.)

Plans have been made to extend LA 3213 south from the bridge to Louisiana Highway 3127, an inland bypass to LA 18.^[3]

[edit] See also

• List of crossings of the Lower Mississippi River

[edit] References

1. ^ The Zachary Taylor Parkway, Bridges Replace Ferries
2. ^ ^{a b} Louisiana State Highway Log
3. ^ Sen. Amedee Announces Funding Awarded for Gramercy Bridge Extension, September 24, 2004

• Weeks III, John A. "LA-3213 Veterans Memorial Bridge, Gramercy, LA". http://www.johnweeks.com/lower_mississippi/pages/lmiss14.html. Retrieved January 31, 2006.

Crossings of the Mississippi River
Upstream Sunshine Bridge LA 70	Gramercy Bridge	Downstream Edgard-Reserve Ferry