A 528 ft-wide, 2,650-ton steel truss span, supported by a U-shaped stability frame, is being readied for lift and placement on June 19 as part of a $1.2 billion widening project for the Huey P. Long Bridge in New Orleans, La.
The 75-year-old, 7,009-meter-long steel-truss railroad bridge has two rail tracks in the center and a pair of shoulderless highway lanes cantilevered off each side. The project is to widen the bridge to permit three lanes in each direction, plus shoulders. Work is being accomplished in four phases. Phase I, between April 2006 and May 2009 was to widen and strengthen the substructure and piers. Phase II covered railroad modifications performed between October 2006 and June 2008. Phase IV construction of new approaches and this one, Phase III, which covers the widening of the main span superstructure, began in June 2008 and is underway.