HUEY P. LONG BRIDGE WIDENING SUPERSTRUCTURE

New Orleans, Louisiana

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development's Huey P. Long U.S. 90 Bridge over the Mississippi River is a key infrastructure component of the New Orleans and Louisiana economies, with 50,000 vehicles daily, along with passenger and freight train usage. Completed in 1935, the steel truss bridge supports two railroad tracks and four narrow 9-foot wide traffic lanes.

This Massman-led joint venture project added trusses on each side and replaced the existing traffic lanes with 3 widened lanes and shoulders. The main span is 2,375 feet long in four spans. The widening scope included over 17,000 tons of structural steel, and extensive retrofitting of the existing trusses to accept connections to the new trusses.

Extensive work procedures were also employed at the road deck level to maintain the normal four lanes of traffic and rail usage as much as possible. The retrofitting and connection work on the existing trusses was performed from fixed work platforms, and also moving platforms over the traffic lanes.

Above, a video shows the Huey P. Long bridge project truss lift.