Israel LaFleur Bridge: Difference between revisions

The Calcasieu River High Bridge is a concrete pillar vehicular bride located in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The bridge was built in 1952 as part of the new Lake Charles Loop (a highway expansion that runs over the Calcasieu River, south of Lake Charles, and back up to Interstate I-10) File:River Bridge.jpg

Specifications

The bridge is about 850 feet long, and 320 feet high. It is approximately the same height as the Capital One Tower (Lake Charles) (previously Hibernia National Bank Tower), and L'Auberge du Lac Resort

Hurricanes

The bridge was tested with strength during 1957. Hurricane Audrey, a category 4 hurricane (5 being the highest on the hurricane scale), wiped out western Louisiana and Eastern Texas. The bridge survived the intense 110 mph.

It also survived the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Rita. The storm surge was 20 feet high, wiping everything in its way. As the sun came up, the bridge was still there, as strong as ever.

Present-Day

Thousands and Thousands of cars pass by the bridge each day. When riding on top of the bridge, one can view the entire Lake Charles area, and some of it's higher buildings. On the the right side, one can see the Port of Lake Charles, the sixteenth largest seaport in the United States. Many spectators from the Downtown Beach can easily spot the bridge from far distance.

File:I-210 Bridge.jpg

Trivia

- The speed limit on the bridge is only 45 mph, due to the bridge's cursiveness.

- The bridge's deficiency percentage is 96%, even after surviving two major hurricanes.

- One of the tallest structures in the southwest region.