John James Audubon Bridge (Mississippi River)

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**John James Audubon Bridge**
Image:John James Audubon Bridge Louisiana.jpg Artist concept of the completed bridge
Carries	4 lanes of LA 10
Crosses	Mississippi River
Locale	Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana
Design	Cable-stayed bridge
Opening date	2010
Coordinates	30°43′39″N, 91°21′18″W

The John James Audubon Bridge project is a new Mississippi River crossing between Pointe Coupee and West Feliciana parishes in south central Louisiana.

The bridge--proposed to be the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America when complete--will replace an existing ferry between the communities of New Roads and St. Francisville.

The bridge will also serve as the only bridge structure on the Mississippi River between Natchez, Mississippi and Baton Rouge, Louisiana (approximately 90 river miles).

The Audubon Bridge project will include:

A 2.44 mile four-lane elevated bridge structure with two 11-foot travel lanes in each direction with 8-foot outside shoulders and 2-foot inside shoulders

Approximately 12 miles of two-lane roadway connecting LA 1 east of Hospital Road at New Roads to US 61 south of LA 966 and St. Francisville

Four new intersections at existing LA 1, LA 10, LA 981 (River Road) and US 61 for entry to and exit from the new roadway and bridge

The project is being constructed by Audubon Bridge Constructors, a joint venture of Flatiron Constructors, Granite Construction and Parsons Transportation Group.

The John James Audubon Bridge project is expected to be complete by summer 2010.

The construction of the John James Audubon Bridge between the historic districts of St. Francisville and New Roads is a project of great proportion for the state and the Department of Transportation and Development. For decades, people have envisioned what life would be like with a bridge connecting south Louisiana to the Feliciana parishes and communities, towns and cities to the north.

As a gateway, the Audubon Bridge has been long-awaited. The communities welcome the bridge’s construction. People are excited and ready to move beyond centuries of ferry crossings and longer commutes.

Naming the new bridge after John James Audubon is extremely significant to this project because it exemplifies the importance and preservation of the rich history and heritage of the region.

John James Audubon is a monumental figure to the people of Pointe Coupee and West Feliciana parishes. Audubon, one of the world’s most renowned artists, dedicated his life to painting all of the birds in America. He painted 32 of his famous works in his Birds of America series while residing at Oakley Plantation at St. Francisville as a tutor to Eliza Pirrie in 1821.

As these two parishes are widely regarded for their abundance of wildlife, amazing landscapes and preserved historic structures from the days of Audubon, it is only fitting that the new bridge be named in his memory. It is, therefore, ironic that construction of the bridge and the highway approaches in West Feliciana has caused the complete decimation of hundreds of the once beautiful live oak trees which previously lined Highway 61. Many of the trees were ancient, with their lower limbs gracefully reaching down to the ground and then back upward toward the sky.