Contact: Bryan Jones, Communications Specialist, (225) 906-1429

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana TIMED Program is set to open a public outreach office for the new John James Audubon Bridge project at the Julien Poydras Building in downtown New Roads on Tuesday, May 23. Located in Suite 227 at 500 West Main Street, the office will serve as the chief location for information regarding the Audubon Bridge project.

“Our mission is to keep the public informed of construction progress and other developments on the Audubon Bridge project,” said TIMED Communications Specialist Bryan Jones. “This is a project of enormous proportion for the state, particularly for Pointe Coupee and West Feliciana parishes. We believe it is critically important to keep local residents engaged throughout the duration of the project.”

With preliminary construction already underway, the TIMED Public Outreach Department is establishing the public outreach office as the central location for the community to receive up-to date information on the project’s progress. Designated office hours are every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

In addition to visiting the office, the public can get information by contacting the public outreach office at (225) 638-6094, toll-free at (866) 846-3352 or by email at audubonbridgeinfo@latimedmgrs.com.

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 La. 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, contact Bryan Jones, Communications Specialist with Louisiana TIMED Managers, at (225) 906-1429.

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