Industrial Canal - Bridges Over The Canal

Bridges Over The Canal

There are eight bridges over the Industrial Canal. Each provides sufficient vertical clearance for ship traffic. The bridges, beginning at the north end of the canal, are:

Seabrook Bridge

It is a medium-rise twin bascule, four-lane roadway bridge. The roadway is Lakeshore Drive, connecting to Leon C. Simon Drive on the upper side of the bridge, Hayne Boulevard on the lower side. The bridge is officially named Senator Ted Hickey Bridge. It is operated by the Orleans Levee District. Normally it stays in the down position for vehicular traffic, but it provides sufficient clearance for most marine traffic.

Seabrook Railroad Bridge

It is a bascule railroad bridge carrying two railroad tracks. It is owned and operated by Port of New Orleans. It normally stays in the up position. Amtrak's Crescent uses this bridge. Automobile traffic used this bridge prior to the construction of the bridge above. The former automobile lanes, with their deteriorated wooden decks, still straddle the railroad span.

Danziger Bridge

It is a lift bridge with seven vehicular lanes (US Highway 90 / Chef Menteur Highway). When this bridge was completed in 1988, replacing a previous bridge of the same name, it was the widest lift bridge in the world. Most marine traffic is accommodated in the down position.

I-10 High Rise Bridge

It is a high-rise six-lane freeway, referred to locally as "the I-10 high-rise" or just "the high-rise."

Almonaster Avenue Bridge

It is a bascule bridge with two railroad tracks and one vehicular lane in each direction, straddling the railroad bridge. It is owned and operated by the Port of New Orleans. Since Hurricane Katrina destroyed the roadways leading up to it, the bridge now normally stays in the up position.

Florida Avenue Bridge

It is a lift bridge with one railroad track and two vehicular lanes. It is owned and operated by the Port of New Orleans. A parallel four-lane high-rise vehicular bridge is planned.

Claiborne Avenue Bridge

It is a lift bridge, officially named Judge William Seeber Bridge, with four vehicular lanes (North Claiborne Avenue). It accommodates most marine traffic in the down position.

St. Claude Avenue Bridge

It is a bascule bridge with four vehicular lanes. This was originally a combination railroad/automobile bridge, with the two pairs of railroad tracks in the center of the lift span and automobile lanes straddling it. However, the railroad is long gone, and one lane in each direction passes through the truss of the bridge and one lane passes alongside the truss. The bridge is integrated into the Industrial Lock structure, on the river side of the lock chamber. It raises when marine traffic enters or exits the lock.