The contractor continues driving piles for the new eastbound span. Thus far, 240 of the 272 production piles have been driven.

The contractor continues pouring bridge caps. A cap is the part of the bridge that sits on top of a group of piles and will help disperse pressure to the piles below. Thus far, 54 of the 60 bent caps have been poured.

The contractor also continues to pour the bridge’s deck. Thus far, 17 of the 20 bridge deck spans have been poured. The deck is the road surface of the bridge. It rests on the girders which are supported by bents. Bents are made up of caps and piles.

The contractor has also begun construction on the new eastbound roadway.

The contractor has completed building the haul road on the west side of the river. The haul road was used by the contractor to bring equipment and building material to and from the job site while working on the new westbound span.

All four of the test piles have been driven. Test piles help to gather information on the conditions at the job site such as installation methods for future piles and soil type. The information determines proper pile lengths and driving criteria for the production piles for the new bridge.

The contractor completed the westbound roadway and bridge. Traffic was moved to the new bridge on Sept. 11, 2009.

The old westbound bridge was demolished on Oct. 21, 2009.

We have received a few questions about the bumps drivers feel as they enter and exit the new westbound bridge traveling from Denham Springs to Baton Rouge. These bumps are temporary. Crews still have to put down the final layer of asphalt on the new westbound bridge approaches. This was done to prevent the new roadway from potentially being damaged by heavy construction equipment. Once the new eastbound bridge and roadway is complete, the final layer of asphalt (the final riding surface) will be placed on the new westbound roadway and the bumps will go away.

For questions or comments, contact DOTD’s Customer Service Center at 1-877-4LA-DOTD (1-877-452-3683) or e-mail customerservice@dotd.la.gov. The center is open 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. You can also visit the project’s Web page by going to www.dotd.la.gov and clicking on "Projects" from the Programs & Projects section of the main menu on the left-hand side of the page and selecting the U.S. 190 Amite River Bridge Project link.

You can also follow the U.S. 190 Amite River Bridge Project on Facebook. Once you open a Facebook account, project information can be accessed by entering "Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development" or "U.S. 190 Amite River Bridge Project" into the search field.

Again, we thank you for your feedback and patience during this construction. Additionally, at your convenience, please let us know how we are doing by filling out our Customer Service Survey.

State Project No. 013-05-0044
Project Description: Amite River Bridge and Approaches
Parish: Livingston
Contractor: James Construction Group LLC
Contract Amount: $29.5 million
Project Engineer: Kris Wascom
Project Start Date: Dec. 2007
Project End Date: Dec. 2010