The Fort Pike Bridge (also known as the Rigolets Bridge), named after nearby

Fort Pike Fort Pike State Historic Site is a decommissioned 19th-century United States fort, named after Brigadier General Zebulon Pike. It was built following the War of 1812 to guard the Rigolets pass in Louisiana, a strait from the Gulf of Mexico, via L ...

, carries

U.S. Route 90 U.S. Route 90 or U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) is an east–west major United States highway in the Southern United States. Despite the "0" in its route number, US 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route. It generally travels near Int ...

across the

Rigolets Rigolets is a deepwater strait in Louisiana. "Rigolets" comes from the word ''rigole'', French for 'trench' or 'gutter'. The name is now locally pronounced "RIG-uh-leez". The strait begins at and follows a generally eastward course to Lake Bo ...

on the eastern side of

Lake Pontchartrain Lake Pontchartrain ( ; ) is an estuary located in southeastern Louisiana in the United States. It covers an area of with an average depth of . Some shipping channels are kept deeper through dredging. It is roughly oval in shape, about from w ...

between

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and Slidell in

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 ...

. It is owned and operated by

Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) is a Federated state, state government organization in the United States, in charge of maintaining public transportation, roadways, bridges, canals, select levees, floodplain mana ...

The bridge opened on June 9, 1930, and along with the

Chef Menteur Bridge The Chef Menteur Bridge (also known as the Chef Menteur Pass Bridge) is a bridge which connects between New Orleans and Slidell, Louisiana. It carries U.S. Route 90 (US 90) across Chef Menteur Pass on the eastern side of Lake Pontcha ...

provided a free route between New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. West of the bridge was the site of

Jayne Mansfield Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, ''Playboy'' Playmate, and sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s. She was known for her numerous publicity stunts and open personal life. He ...

's death in June 1967. A new span was constructed just to the north of the old span. Zebpikesm

High-rise replacement

Construction of a new $50 million high-rise bridge began in October 2004. The new bridge was built by Massman Construction Co., of Kansas City, MO. It was delayed by

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

in 2005, which pushed a devastating

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...

through the area. The new bridge is just over one mile (1.6 km) in length and features two lanes with shoulders on both sides. The bridge rises to to allow marine traffic to pass without interruption of bridge traffic. The new span opened to traffic on January 15, 2008. After completion of the new span, the old bridge was demolished.

References

{{Crossings navbox , structure = Crossings , place =

, bridge = Fort Pike Bridge , bridge signs = , upstream text = West , upstream =

I-10 Twin Span Bridge The I-10 Twin Span Bridge, officially known as the Frank Davis "Naturally N'Awlins" Memorial Bridge, is a nearly causeway near New Orleans. It consists of two parallel trestle bridges. These parallel bridges cross the eastern end of Lake Pon ...

(

) , upstream signs = , downstream text = East , downstream =

CSX Rigolets Pass Bridge The CSX Rigolets Pass Bridge carries one track of CSX Transportation across the Rigolets on the eastern side of Lake Pontchartrain between New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Co ...

, downstream signs = ''CSX Railway'' Bridges in New Orleans Bridges completed in 1930 Bridges completed in 2008 Swing bridges in the United States Road bridges in Louisiana U.S. Route 90 Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System Slidell, Louisiana Box girder bridges in the United States

High-rise replacement

See also

References