St. Charles Street bridge to close for upgrades

Drivers that frequent the St. Charles Street Bridge crossing Bayou Terrebonne will need to find an alternate route, as the bridge will be closed for six months by the state in order to build a replacement bridge.

The bridge was originally slated to go under construction in the beginning of October, but Project Engineer Chris Rogers said he estimates construction to begin in early November. The bridge replacement will cost approximately $969,000, funded by the state, and will be built by Coastal Bridge Co. out of Baton Rouge.

“It’s not so much that there’s a problem with the existing bridge, it’s not that it’s unsafe. It just doesn’t meet the current standards that were determined through the department of transportation inspections conducted over the last few years,” Rogers said.

According to spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD, Bambi Hall, the bridge was last inspected on May 18, and received an overall rating of 5 on a scale of 1 to 10. At that time, it was decided the bridge would be replaced.

“Further justifying the need and decision was the average daily traffic count, which indicates that more than 5,000 vehicles cross the bridge each day,” Hall wrote in an e-mail.

The new bridge, according to Rogers, will have concrete pilings instead of the old timber pilings, which help extend the life of the bridge foundation substantially. Hall said the bridge is to be constructed on site as well.

Local school and government officials expect some traffic delays because the two alternate bridges to be used while St. Charles is closed, Hackberry Bridge and Autin Bridge, lack red lights.

“The biggest concern I have is the Autin Bridge because it has no red light, whereas St. Charles has a red on Main Street and on Park Avenue,” Councilman Johnny Pizzolatto said. “So when you’re trying to make a left turn onto Main Street early on the morning, the traffic is [going to be] extremely heavy, so it’s going to jam up.”

Pizzolatto made the announcement of the bridge closure at the last Terrebonne Parish Council meeting on Sept. 22, the same day Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet received an e-mail notifying him of the upcoming closure from DOTD engineer, Lyle LeBlanc.

“I haven’t received any calls about the bridge yet, but most people don’t know about it until they blockade the bridge,” Pizzolatto said. “Then I’ll start getting phone calls.”

Pizzolatto hopes drivers will plan their travel time accordingly in light of the closure.

“I think people, once they get accustomed [to the delays] they will learn how to travel. They will have to leave earlier and be patient,” he said.

Terrebonne Parish School Superintendent Philip Martin foresees buses delivering students to Terrebonne High School to be a bigger problem than regular traffic flow.

“What will be difficult is the buses delivering kids to school that are coming from West Park Avenue heading north,” Martin said. “When they turn, there’s no light and I’m afraid there will be a long jam of buses.”

Martin said he’s working towards getting crossing guards at both Autin Bridge and Hackberry Bridge, and traffic studies on the area are still pending.

“Everything may not even materialize this way, but we will take every precaution and we will adjust and adapt,” Martin said.

The St. Charles Street Bridge crossing Bayou Terrebonne will close for six months while a replacement bridge is built. Actual construction will begin in early November. ERIC BESSON