Horace Wilkinson Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Horace Wilkinson Bridge is a cantilever bridge
carrying Interstate 10 in Louisiana
across the Mississippi River
from Port Allen in West Baton Rouge Parish to Baton Rouge in East Baton Rouge Parish. Around the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Area
, the bridge is more commonly known as the "New Bridge" because it is the younger of the two bridges that cross the river in Baton Rouge.
The structure begins at the Louisiana Highway 1
(LA 1) exit south of Port Allen. After the interstate crosses the superstructure, it remains an elevated viaduct up to the Dalrymple Drive exit to Louisiana State University
. It is the highest bridge on the Mississippi River.
The bridge is named after three separate Horace Wilkinsons who served a total of 54 years in the Louisiana legislature. Horace Wilkinson, along with his son and grandson, were honored with the naming of the I-10 bridge by Act 206 of the Louisiana Legislature in 1968.
Locally it is notorious for daily traffic snags for several reasons. Eastbound congestion occurs when congestion, created upstream, stretches through the I-10/I-110 junction, persists since I-10 narrows to just one lane at the I-110 South merge. This congestion is not helped by local traffic from I-110 South exiting at Washington Street crossing the only lane of I-10. Westbound congestion occurs from slower traffic entering from the short transition zone of the St. Ferdinand Street entrance ramp and the narrowing of I-10 when it loses a lane to exit at LA 1.
Around October 2003, the I-10E/I-110S merge was restriped to reduce I-110 South from three lanes to two lanes, allowing I-10 its own lane, no longer mandating I-10 East commuters to shift to the left to continue on I-10 East.
In August 2010, the I-10 West exit to LA 1 was restriped to disallow the center lane from exiting.
Also, the signs on the bridge were replaced, including new signs that say Horace Wilkinson Bridge, EBR and WBR Parish, and Mississippi River
. To add to that, new reflectors were put onto the Capital City Expressway. and new paintings on the road show the LA 1 exit only lane and the I-110 N exit only lane. Finally, they also show which lanes are for I-10 easily because the road has paintings saying I-10 with an arrow above it.
Cantilever bridge
A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using cantilevers, structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end. For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beams; however, large cantilever bridges designed to handle road or rail traffic use trusses built from...
carrying Interstate 10 in Louisiana
Interstate 10 in Louisiana
Interstate 10, a major transcontinental Interstate Highway in the Southern U.S., runs across the southern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It passes through Lake Charles, Lafayette and Baton Rouge before dipping south of Lake Pontchartrain to serve the New Orleans area and then passing through...
across the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
from Port Allen in West Baton Rouge Parish to Baton Rouge in East Baton Rouge Parish. Around the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Area
Baton Rouge metropolitan area
The Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is a sprawling area consisting of nine parishes in Louisiana, anchored by the city of Baton Rouge...
, the bridge is more commonly known as the "New Bridge" because it is the younger of the two bridges that cross the river in Baton Rouge.
The structure begins at the Louisiana Highway 1
Louisiana Highway 1
Louisiana Highway 1 is a state highway in Louisiana. At 436.20 miles , it is the longest numbered highway of any class in Louisiana. It runs diagonally across the state, connecting the oil and gas fields near the island of Grand Isle with the northwest corner of the state, north of Shreveport.The...
(LA 1) exit south of Port Allen. After the interstate crosses the superstructure, it remains an elevated viaduct up to the Dalrymple Drive exit to Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
. It is the highest bridge on the Mississippi River.
The bridge is named after three separate Horace Wilkinsons who served a total of 54 years in the Louisiana legislature. Horace Wilkinson, along with his son and grandson, were honored with the naming of the I-10 bridge by Act 206 of the Louisiana Legislature in 1968.
Locally it is notorious for daily traffic snags for several reasons. Eastbound congestion occurs when congestion, created upstream, stretches through the I-10/I-110 junction, persists since I-10 narrows to just one lane at the I-110 South merge. This congestion is not helped by local traffic from I-110 South exiting at Washington Street crossing the only lane of I-10. Westbound congestion occurs from slower traffic entering from the short transition zone of the St. Ferdinand Street entrance ramp and the narrowing of I-10 when it loses a lane to exit at LA 1.
Around October 2003, the I-10E/I-110S merge was restriped to reduce I-110 South from three lanes to two lanes, allowing I-10 its own lane, no longer mandating I-10 East commuters to shift to the left to continue on I-10 East.
In August 2010, the I-10 West exit to LA 1 was restriped to disallow the center lane from exiting.
Also, the signs on the bridge were replaced, including new signs that say Horace Wilkinson Bridge, EBR and WBR Parish, and Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. To add to that, new reflectors were put onto the Capital City Expressway. and new paintings on the road show the LA 1 exit only lane and the I-110 N exit only lane. Finally, they also show which lanes are for I-10 easily because the road has paintings saying I-10 with an arrow above it.
External links
- Horace Wilkinson Bridge by John Weeks
- Horace Wilkinson BridgePix featured on BridgePix.Com