On Friday, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development celebrated the beginning of construction on the LA 1 Intracoastal Bridge replacement project in West Baton Rouge Parish.
Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson joined local officials to throw out the first shovelfuls of dirt for the $5.7 million project, which officially began in early April. The project will replace the current southbound bridge with a new bridge constructed on the west side of the existing structure. Additionally, the project will realign Ernest Wilson Drive and LA 1 to connect with the new bridge.
“This project has been on the books for many years, and I am happy that we can finally break ground on this critical project here in West Baton Rouge Parish,” said Wilson. “Once this bridge replacement project is completed, it will provide much relief to the residents in this community, allowing for a separated exit lane for the Mississippi River Bridge.”
Wilson said the current bridge is 60 years old, and the aging infrastructure is too costly to keep repairing.
The southbound bridge replacement is phase one of a two-phased project. The next phase, slated to go to bid in the summer of next year, will remove the original bridges and construct a new northbound bridge. Once both phases are completed, the Intracoastal Bridge will consist of a southbound bridge with three 12-foot lanes, 10-foot shoulders, a northbound bridge with two 12-foot lanes and 10-foot shoulders, and a barrier separated for an exit lane for the I-10 eastbound.
Until the new southbound bridge is completed, vehicles will stay on the current alignment. Once completed, both south and northbound traffic will be shifted to the new bridge.