The Krotz Springs Bridge, officially named the Frank and Sal Diesi Bridge, is a pair of
continuous truss bridges in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
which carry
US 190 over the
Atchafalaya River
The Atchafalaya River () is a distributary of the Mississippi River and Red River of the South, Red River in south central Louisiana in the United States. It flows south, just west of the Mississippi River, and is the fifth largest river in N ...
at
Krotz Springs.
Although it was long rumored that the bridge was constructed due to Governor
Huey Long
Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "The Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination i ...
's political issues with the town of
Melville upstream, which was originally on the route for
U.S. Highway 71 and Jefferson Highway, plans for this bridge in Krotz Springs (originally as a toll) were announced as early as 1925. This original span opened July 1, 1928, as a free bridge and carried railroad and automobile traffic, similar to the Atchafalya River Crossing in
Simmesport. This dual crossing was short-lived and construction on a dedicated auto bridge began in 1931. Shortly before the dual crossing ended, the railroad commission charged tolls for automobiles.
The original bridge, a truss span costing $1 million, was built in 1934 and carried two lanes of US 190 traffic. It was one of many bridges constructed in the early 1930s named the Long-Allen Bridge. In 1973, a parallel span was built to accommodate westbound traffic as traffic counts overwhelmed the original bridge. In 1985, the original span closed and was demolished, temporarily converting the 1973 span to two-lane traffic. The current eastbound span opened in 1988. In September 2015, the bridge was named for Krotz Springs Port officials Frank and Sal Diesi.
See also
*
List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Louisiana
References
External links
*
Road bridges in Louisiana
U.S. Route 90
Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System
Cantilever bridges in the United States
Buildings and structures in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana
Historic American Engineering Record in Louisiana
1973 establishments in Louisiana
1988 establishments in Louisiana
Bridges completed in 1973
Bridges completed in 1988
Transportation in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana
Atchafalaya River
Transportation in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana
Buildings and structures in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana
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