The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the $30 million US 190 Collins Bridge and Widening Project in St. Tammany Parish.
“This project advances two core priorities for DOTD: safety and efficiency,” DOTD Secretary Glenn Ledet said at the ceremony. “For years, traffic in this area was forced through a narrow crossing that created congestion and safety concerns. Today, drivers have a safer, more reliable route that better reflects how this community has grown and will continue to grow.”
The project constructed a bridge adjacent to the Bogue Falaya River Bridge and widened US 190 from the US 190/US 190B intersection to the intersection of US 190 and LA 437. Work also included adding traffic signals, building highway dividers and designated U-turn locations, improved drainage, and new asphalt pavement.
The Bogue Falaya River Bridge now carries two eastbound and southbound lanes and the new bridge carries westbound and northbound traffic, so there are now four lanes crossing the river.
Traffic traveling on the three-lane section of US 190 north of I-12 prior to construction was reduced to a single two-lane bridge to cross the Bogue Falaya River. The traffic bottleneck that the project eliminated often would extend up to 1.25 miles.