Lake Pontchartrain Causeway
The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway consists of two parallel bridges which are the longest in the world. Crossing over Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana, the longer of the two bridges is 23 miles (38.422 kilometers) long. The bridges are supported by over 9,000 concrete pilings.
The southern end of the causeway is in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. The northern end is at Mandeville, Louisiana.
The original causeway, a two-lane span, was opened in 1956. A parallel two-lane span, slightly longer than the original, opened in 1969. The causeway has always been a toll bridge. Until 1999, tolls were collected from traffic going in each direction. To alleviate congestion at the south shore entrance, the toll facilities were removed from the northbound span. The standard tolls for cars changed from $1.50 in each direction to a $3.00 toll collected on the North Shore from southbound traffic only.
The opening of the causeway opened up communities on the North Shore of the lake for commuters working in New Orleans, bringing the North Shore into the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan area.
During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, videos collected showed the structure of the Causeway to be severely damaged along much of its span, however the structure was still intact. The causeway should not be confused with the Pontchartrain Expressway, a section of Interstate 10 and U.S. Highway 90 in downtown New Orleans. Much of I-10 in this area was completely destroyed by the hurricane and its flooding. According to the Times-Picayune, however, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway (which carries no interstate or Louisiana route designation) has been largely spared, with the newer 1969 southbound lanes being used for emergency traffic. Contractors are rapidly repairing the connections between solid ground and the elevated portions.