Boggs Bridge to close for weekend

A project involving the replacement of expansion joints and 72 support cables at a cost of $48.2 million is expected to be completed sometime in September, with occasional closings being part of a process to improve the Interstate Highway 310 Hale Boggs Bridge at Luling between now and then.

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development confirmed this week that northbound lanes on the structure will be shut down for 80 hours beginning Friday at 7 p.m. and ending Feb. 14 at 5 a.m. An expansion joint is to be replaced during that time.

“This is the longest such closure during the project since its inception,” DOTD spokeswoman Bambi Hall said in a printed statement. “Although this is the approved closure time period, the contractor will work continuously to install the expansion joint with hopes of opening the northbound lanes early to help reduce the amount of inconvenience and economic hardship the motorists of the region will experience with the inclusion of a weekday during the closure.”

Motorists are directed to detour the Hale Boggs Bridge area via the La. Highway 3213 Mississippi River Bridge in Gramercy or the Huey P. Long Bridge in Bridge City.

In case of poor weather conditions, DOTD officials will coordinate efforts with other construction projects as well as those in St. Charles Parish to reschedule the closure.