NEW ORLEANS – The TIMED Program is opening the Huey P. Long Bridge widening public outreach office in the Jefferson Business Center 1.  Located in Suite 135 on 520 Elmwood Park Blvd., the office will serve as the chief location for information regarding the widening of the Huey P. Long Bridge.

              “Our main goal for this outreach office is to keep the public informed about the Huey P. Long Bridge Widening project,” said TIMED Public Outreach Coordinator Talisha Dunn-Square.  “We want to have project personnel available to the public because we understand the significance of this project, especially since Hurricane Katrina.”

            With construction expected to begin in mid-April 2006 on the first segment of the project, the TIMED Public Outreach Department is establishing a central location for the community to receive up-to-date information on the project’s progress.  The office will open to the public on April 11, 2006.  Designated office hours are every Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Hours will be expanded as the project progresses.

            In addition to visiting the office, the public can get information by contacting the public outreach office at (504)731-4200, toll-free at (866) 846-3352 or by email at hueypbridgeinfo@latimedmgrs.com. 

            The completed Huey P. Long Bridge Widening project will include three 11-foot lanes in each direction, along with new inside and outside shoulders across the bridge.  The project also includes the construction of new roadway approaches that will provide signalized intersections at Bridge City Avenue and Jefferson Highway.

            The widening of the Huey P. Long Bridge (www.hueypbridge.com) is one of three major bridge projects included in the TIMED Program.  The TIMED Program (www.timedla.com) is the single largest transportation program in state history.  The $4.0 billion program includes 16 specific transportation projects that include four-laning 536 miles of state highways, widening and /or new construction on three major bridges and improvements to both the Port of New Orleans and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.  The program is designed to enhance economic development in Louisiana through an investment in transportation projects and is funded by a dedicated $0.04 per gallon gasoline and motor fuels tax.  The Program was created by Act 16 of the 1989 Louisiana Legislature and was approved by a vote of the people. 

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