| Luling Bridge | |
|---|---|
| Official name | Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge |
| Carries | 4 lanes of Interstate 310 |
| Crosses | Mississippi River |
| Locale | Luling, Louisiana and Destrehan, Louisiana |
| Maintained by | LaDOTD |
| ID number | 024504503700001 |
| Design | Cable-stayed bridge |
| Total length | 10,700 feet (3,261 m) |
| Width | 76 feet (23 m) |
| Longest span | 1,234 feet (376 m) |
| Clearance below | 158 feet (48 m) |
| Opened | October 6, 1983 |
| Daily traffic | 40,000 (2008) |
The Luling Bridge (also known as the Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge) is a cable-stayed bridge over the Mississippi River in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. It is named for the late United States Congressman Hale Boggs. The bridge was dedicated by Governor David C. Treen and Bishop Stanley Ott of Baton Rouge and opened to traffic on October 8, 1983 connecting Louisiana Highway 18 on the West Bank and Louisiana Highway 48 on the East Bank. The Luling Bridge was the third major cable-stayed bridge in the United States after the 1,255-foot John O'Connell Bridge of Sitka, Alaska (the United States' first vehicular cable-stayed girder spanned bridge) and the Pasco-Kennewick Bridge or Ed Hendler Bridge in Washington.
In 1993 the Luling Bridge was incorporated into the newly completed Interstate 310 and was the first cable-stayed bridge to be added to the interstate highway system. Upon completion of Interstate 49, I-310 and the Luling Bridge will serve as a connection between I-49 and Interstate 10 on the western edge of metropolitan New Orleans.
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The Luling Bridge's design features an unpainted weathering steel towers and superstructure, an orthotropic steel box girder superstructure, and two planes of cables in a fan pattern. Weathering steel exhibits uniform oxidation or "rusting" that results in a uniform protective patina and reduces maintenance requirements. The bridge's weathered bronze color is intended to blend with the muddy waters of the Mississippi River.
The prefabricated cables featured a heavy polyethylene sheathing that began cracking even before installation, leading to moisture intrusion and cable deterioration. There were additional problems with rust and water leakage in the anchorages [1]. A project to replace the cables began in 2011.
The bridge was under construction on October 20, 1976 when the ferry George Prince was struck by a tanker while crossing the river from Destrehan to Luling, the same communities connected by this bridge. Seventy-eight people perished when the ferry capsized; only eighteen survived.
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