I-55 lane closures

LAPLACE – Northbound lanes of Interstate 55 from LaPlace to Manchac will experience alternating lane closures this weekend while work is done to repair equipment on both sides of the roadway, according to a release from the state Department of Transportation.

Alternating closures began Friday morning and it is expected to continue through Tuesday. The closures will occur between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily. One lane will remain open at all times, but motorists can expect some delays through the area.

The closure will allow vehicles 12 feet wide or smaller to pass through the construction zone. Anything larger must use U.S. Highway 51 as an alternate route.

The DOTD reminds motorists to drive with caution through the construction site and be on the lookout for workers and equipment. Anyone with questions about the work may contact DOTD Project Engineer Michael Duplantis at 504-465-3473.

Hale Boggs

closure

LULING – Interstate 310 at the Hale Boggs Bridge over the Mississippi River in St. Charles Parish will be closed in both directions this weekend while construction workers move equipment being used on the bridge’s $30 million cable replacement project.

The shut down of the bridge began Friday at 10 p.m. and it is expected to last through Monday at 4 a.m.

Alan Weber, a project engineer for the state Department of Transportation and Development said the solid 54-hour closure is needed for a construction crew to set up a crane to move a 2,500-pound “saddle” from the bridge’s 155-foot-tall south tower to the matching north tower. He said the saddle is used to drape temporary cables over the top of the towers to support the roadbed while newer cables are installed.

This closure is the second as part of the cable replacement project, which began in 2009. Weber said the bridge will be closed again next weekend during the same time if the first phase of work is completed this time around.

Motorists needing to cross the river from either direction can either use the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Gramercy or the Huey P. Long Bridge in Jefferson Parish.

, which is also undergoing construction as part of a widening project. DOTD said no lane closures are scheduled on that bridge this weekend.

Contractors have been working since September 2009 to replace all of the bridge’s 72 grout-coated cables, which have shown signs of corrosion. The cables have not had maintenance since the bridge opened to traffic in 1983. Dustin Annison, a spokesman for DOTD said workers have replaced 18 of the cables in a design in which each cable strand is individually wrapped in plastic. He said the new design will make it easier to replace individual strands that may wear down before others and will also dampen vibrations from bridge traffic.