Description

The new cable-stayed bridge between St. Francisville and New Roads, LA, has four lanes and provides 20 m (65 ft.) of vertical clearance. The main Mississippi River structure comprises five spans, with a main span of 482 m (1583 ft.), side spans of 196 m (642 ft.) and two transition spans of 49 m (160 ft.) each.

This is the longest cable-stayed bridge in both Canada and the United States and is the first design-build bridge project ever undertaken in the State of Louisiana.

Key innovative features of the design include:

• optimization of the main span length to simplify pier construction and improve navigation clearances;
• simplified pylon configurations to reduce construction costs and schedule duration;
• efficient cable arrangement without significant out-of-plane inclination;
• simple direct connections at both ends of the cables; and
• simple composite deck construction utilizing proven concepts for durability, accessibility and low maintenance costs.

Buckland & Taylor's Scope of Work

Audubon Bridge Constructors (a joint venture of Flatiron Contractors Inc., Granite Construction Co. and Parsons Transportation Group) won the $334 million contract for the design-build project. The bid was $12 million below the Engineer's budget. Buckland & Taylor performed the bid design for the composite steel cable-stayed bridge. Buckland & Taylor's scope of work includes the detailed design of the cable-stayed portion of the bridge with the exception of its foundations.