Fort Pike Bridge

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Fort Pike Bridge
Carries	2 lanes of US 90
Crosses	Rigolets
Locale	New Orleans and Slidell, Louisiana
Design	Through truss swing bridge
Longest span	399.8 feet (122 m)
Total length	3,877.9 feet (1,182 m)
Width	20 feet (6 m)
Clearance below	14.9 feet (5 m)
Opening date	June 9, 1930

The Fort Pike Bridge (also known as the Rigolets Bridge) carries U.S. Route 90 across the Rigolets on the eastern side of Lake Pontchartrain between New Orleans and Slidell, Louisiana. The bridge opened on June 9, 1930 and along with the Chef Menteur Bridge provided a free route between New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. A new span is being constructed just to the north of the current span.

[edit] High rise replacement

Construction of a new $50 million high-rise bridge began in October 2004. The new bridge is just over one mile in length and features two 12-foot lanes with 8-foot shoulders on both sides. The bridge rises to 72 feet (22 m) to allow marine traffic to pass without interruption of bridge traffic. The new span opened to traffic on January 15, 2008. The old span will be demolished before the end of 2008.^[1]