Delays plague Larose Bridge opening

With its original opening date of October long in the rear view mirror, problems continue to plague the newly constructed bridge crossing Bayou Lafourche in Larose.

The second opening date of mid-January has now been pushed back to late February or early March because of problems that have arisen with gears that lift the center span, according to Henri Boulet, executive director of the LA1 Coalition. “An inspection was done in late December and other issues were discovered, which will again push back the opening date,” he said.

Among the problems is that the lift portion of the bridge skews and rises unevenly when prompted to rise. In turn, that sets off other safety features designed into the structure making operation impossible. “For instance, when an alarm goes off when the lift begins to be set in motion, the cross bars will not go down,” Boulet said, noting that everything must work in harmony for the lift operation to be successful.

And because the bridge was constructed using federal stimulus monies, federal inspectors and engineers, as well as state inspectors, must be notified when addressing issues concerning the span, further delaying the project.

Regarding the ongoing saga of the toll collection issues at the Leeville overpass, Boulet said new toll collection machines should be active next week.

Workers are performing various tasks at the intersection south of the overpass this week in preparation for the upcoming installation of the machines. Boulet said state Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) officials would remain on-site for a week after the collection machines are installed to assist motorists with the new collection procedures.

The machines are outfitted with a help button that motorists can press to engage someone to help with their specific issue. “Hopefully, most of the issues have been addressed regarding the toll collections have been addressed but we are always working to make it better,” Boulet said. “It’s a work in progress.”