225-906-1429

BATON ROUGE, La –– Construction of the new Mississippi River Bridge between New Roads and St. Francisville will get a ceremonial kickoff on Thursday, May 11, 2006, at 2:00 p.m.

The slate of dignitaries expected to help turn the first shovels of dirt include Governor Kathleen Blanco, DOTD Secretary Johnny Bradberry, state legislators, members of the Zachary Taylor Parkway Commission, as well as representatives of local and regional agencies and firms that have played a key role in the planning, design and future construction of the new bridge.

The public ceremony will be held on the levee at Big Cajun II located at 10431 La. 981 in New Roads. Parking will be located across La. 981 from the ceremony within the gates of the facility.  

The proposed bridge, officially named the John James Audubon Bridge, will be the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America with a mainspan length of 1583 feet. This is the Department of Transportation and Development’s first design-build project. The new bridge is being constructed by Audubon Bridge Constructors—a joint venture of Flatiron Constructors, Granite Construction, and Parsons Transportation Group.

            The completed $348 million project will include a 2.44 mile long four-lane bridge structure and approximately 12 miles of approaches connecting Highway 1 at New Roads east of Hospital Road and U.S. 61 south of La. 966 and St. Francisville. The bridge is scheduled to be complete by summer 2010.

The new John James Audubon Bridge (www.audubonbridge.com) is one of three major bridge projects included in the $4.6 billion TIMED Program – the single largest transportation program in state history.

For more information regarding the groundbreaking ceremony or special parking accommodations, contact Bryan Jones, Communications Specialist with Louisiana TIMED Managers, at (225) 906-1429.

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