View source for Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge

{{Infobox Bridge
|bridge_name= Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge
|image= Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge - panoramio (1).jpg
|image_size=
|caption=
|official_name= Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge
|also_known_as= Luling Bridge
|carries= 4 lanes of {{jct|state=LA|I|310}}
|crosses= [[Mississippi River]]
|locale= [[Destrehan, Louisiana]] and [[Luling, Louisiana]]
|maint= [[Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development|LA DOTD]]
|id= 024504503700001
|design= [[Cable-stayed bridge]]
|mainspan= {{convert|1220|ft|m|0}}<ref>{{Cite web
|url=http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0000545
|title=Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge
|date=10 July 2013
|publisher=Wilhelm Ernst & Sohn Verlag
|access-date=5 July 2014
}}</ref>
|length= {{convert|10700|ft|m|0}}
|width= {{convert|76|ft|m|0}}
|clearance=
|below= {{convert|158|ft|m|0}}
|traffic= 40,000 (2008)
|open= October 6, 1983
|closed=
|toll=
|map_cue=
|map_image=
|map_text=
|map_width=
|coordinates= {{coord|29|56|33|N|90|22|25|W|region:US_type:landmark}}
}}

The '''Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge''' (also known as the '''Luling Bridge''') is a [[cable-stayed bridge]] over the [[Mississippi River]] in [[St. Charles Parish, Louisiana]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge|publisher=transystems.com|url=http://www.transystems.com/Home/Markets/States-and-Municipalities/Bridges-and-Tunnels/Projects/Hale-Boggs-Memorial-Bridge.aspx|access-date=2018-03-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029013051/http://www.transystems.com/Home/Markets/States-and-Municipalities/Bridges-and-Tunnels/Projects/Hale-Boggs-Memorial-Bridge.aspx|archive-date=2017-10-29|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is named for the late United States Congressman [[Hale Boggs]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Weeks III|first=John A.|publisher=John A. Weeks III|title=I-310 Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge|url=http://www.johnweeks.com/lower_mississippi/pages/lmiss15.html|access-date=2014-07-05}}</ref> 

With a total length of {{convert|10699|ft|m mi}}, it is one of the [[List of longest bridges|longest bridges in the world]].

==History==
The bridge originally named the Luling–Destrehan Bridge, was dedicated by Governor [[David C. Treen]] and [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge|Bishop Stanley Ott]] of [[Baton Rouge]] and opened to traffic on October 6, 1983 connecting [[Louisiana Highway 18]] on the West Bank and [[Louisiana Highway 48]] on the East Bank. The dedication even featured a Louisiana political stunt. During Governor David Treen's address, an airplane flew over the site with a trailing banner emblazoned with "Edwards Did It," a nod to the fact that much of the bridge's construction took place during the terms of 4-time Louisiana Governor, [[Edwin Edwards|Edwin W. Edwards]], who was in the midst of a [[1983 Louisiana gubernatorial election|successful campaign]] to regain the governor's office from Treen. 

The Hale Boggs Bridge was the third major [[cable-stayed bridge]] in the United States after the 1,255-foot [[John O'Connell Bridge]]  of [[Sitka, Alaska]] (the United States' first vehicular cable-stayed girder spanned bridge) and the [[Pasco-Kennewick Bridge]] or [[Ed Hendler Bridge]] in Washington. The Hale Boggs Bridge was the first cable-stayed bridge to be built across the [[Mississippi River]]. In 1993, it was incorporated into the newly completed [[Interstate 310 (Louisiana)|Interstate 310]], making it the first cable-stayed bridge in the [[Interstate Highway System]].<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=Kurumi.com|title=Interstate 310|url=http://www.kurumi.com/roads/3di/i310.html|date=November 26, 2003|access-date=2006-01-30}}</ref> Upon completion of [[Interstate 49]], [[Interstate 310 (Louisiana)|I-310]] and the Hale Boggs Bridge will serve as a connection between [[Interstate 49|I-49]] and [[Interstate 10]] on the western edge of metropolitan [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]].

==Design==
The superstructure and West approaches of the Hale Boggs Bridge were designed by the prime consultant, Frankland and Leinhard of New York, NY (E. Stanley Jarosz, Vice-president & Chief Engineer, & Myron Lepkaluk, President).  The James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation recognized Jarosz's and Frankland & Leinhard's design achievement with a major award in the year the bridge was completed.<ref name="interview_20121223_jarosz">Interview with E. Stanley Jarosz, 25 December 2012</ref> The foundations of the main span and the East approaches were designed by Modjeski and Masters of Harrisburg, PA.  The original construction was by a team headed by Williams Brothers Construction Co, Inc.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Bridges of New Orleans|publisher=ite.org|url=http://www.ite.org/membersonly/itejournal/pdf/JEA85A27.pdf|access-date=2014-03-29}}</ref><ref name="enr_20080123">{{Cite web|publisher=[[Engineering News-Record]]|url=http://enr.construction.com/news/transportation/archives/080123c.asp|title=Louisiana's Luling Bridge Stay Cables To Be Replaced|first=William J.|last=Angelo|date=January 23, 2008|access-date=2014-07-05}}</ref>

The Hale Boggs's design features an unpainted [[weathering steel]] [[tower]]s and [[superstructure]], an [[orthotropic deck|orthotropic]] steel box girder superstructure, and two planes of cables in a fan pattern. Weathering steel exhibits uniform oxidation or "rusting" that results in a uniform protective patina and reduces maintenance requirements. The bridge's weathered bronze color is intended to blend with the muddy waters of the [[Mississippi River]].

The prefabricated cables, the Swiss manufacturer of which was selected by Williams Brothers Construction Co., Inc.<ref name="interview_20121223_jarosz"/> featured a heavy polyethylene sheathing that began cracking even before installation, leading to moisture intrusion and cable deterioration. There were additional problems with rust and water leakage in the anchorages.<ref name="enr_20080123"/> A project to replace the cables began in the summer of 2009.

==MV George Prince ferry disaster==
{{main|MV George Prince ferry disaster}}
The bridge was under construction on October 20, 1976 when the [[Luling–Destrehan Ferry]], M/V ''George Prince'', was struck by the tanker [[SS Frosta|SS ''Frosta'']] while crossing the river from [[Destrehan, Louisiana|Destrehan]] to [[Luling, Louisiana|Luling]]; the same communities connected by this bridge.<ref name="Report Frosta-George prince">{{cite web|title=Marine Casualty Report SS Frosta M/V George Prince: U.S. Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation Report and Commandant's Actions (Report No. USCG 16732/73429)|publisher=dco.uscg.mil ([[US Coast Guard]])|url=http://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/5p/CG-5PC/INV/docs/boards/frosta.pdf|access-date=2018-03-19}}</ref> Seventy-three passengers and five crew members perished when the ferry capsized; only eighteen survived. It was later revealed all five crew members, including pilot Egidio "Gene" Auletta Sr., were impaired to varying degrees by alcohol consumption. There is a memorial on the East Bank in Destrehan to honor all the people who died in the disaster.

==Events==
The United Way of St. Charles hosts its annual 5K/10K Bridge Run over the Hale Boggs Bridge each Spring. Runners & walkers begin on the East Bank of the Mississippi River and finish at the West Bank Bridge Park. 2013's event was held on April 6, 2013.

The United Way of St. Charles also hosts its annual "Battle For The Paddle", a jambalaya & gumbo cookoff, each Fall. This event is held under the Hale Boggs Bridge at the West Bank Bridge Park.<ref>[http://www.uwaysc.org/special-events Special Events - United Way of St. Charles]</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Haleboggsbridge.jpg|Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge
File:Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge, St. Charles Parish, Louisiana.jpg|Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge-Daytime
File:Destrehan bridge.jpg|Crossing the Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Commons category|Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge}}
* {{Portal-inline|Transport}}
* {{Portal-inline|Engineering}}
* {{Portal-inline|United States}}
* [[List of bridges in the United States]]
* [[List of crossings of the Lower Mississippi River]]
* [[List of longest bridges]]
{{-}}

==References==
*Podolny, W. Jr., and Scalzi, J. B., Construction & Design of Cable-Stayed Bridges, John Wiley & Son, New York, NY, 1976.
* Cable-Stayed Bridges: Theory and Design ({{ISBN|0258970340}} / 0-258-97034-0) Troitsky, M S
*ASCE, Bridge (discusses the Luling Bridge), Civil Engineering, ASCE [[American Society of Civil Engineers]], 31,  July 1984.
* ENR, Stayed -Girders Reaches Record (discusses the Luling Bridge), Engineering News Record, McGraw Hill, New York, NY, April 8, 1982,
*Mangus, Alfred, "A Fresh Look at Orthotropic Technology," ''Public Roads'', The US Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, www.tfhrc.gov March / April 2005, Washington, D.C., pp.&nbsp;38–45.
*Troitsky, M. S., Orthotropic Bridges&nbsp;— Theory and Design, 2nd ed., The James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation, Cleveland, OH, 1987.

;Specific
<references />

==External links==
*[http://wwwsp.dotd.la.gov/Pages/default.aspx LA DOTD website]
{{Crossings navbox
|structure       = Crossings
|place           = [[Mississippi River]]
|bridge          = Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge
|bridge signs    = [[Image:I-310.svg|25px]]
|upstream        = [[Gramercy Bridge]]
|upstream signs  = {{Jct|state=LA|LA|3213}}
|downstream      = [[Huey P. Long Bridge (Jefferson Parish)|Huey P. Long Bridge]]
|downstream signs = [[Image:US 90.svg|20px]]<br />''New Orleans Public Belt''
}}

[[Category:Cable-stayed bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:Bridges over the Mississippi River]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1983]]
[[Category:Bridges on the Interstate Highway System]]
[[Category:Road bridges in Louisiana]]
[[Category:Transportation buildings and structures in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana]]
[[Category:Interstate 10]]
[[Category:Box girder bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:Steel bridges in the United States]]