Lake Pontchartrain Causeway - world's longest overwater highway

bridge
Consisting of parallel, 24-mile-long spans, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is the world's
longest overwater highway bridge and one of the oldest prestressed concrete bridges built in the
U.S. Engineers loaded the bridge pieces on barges and towed them to construction points on
the lake. The twin bridges are supported by more than 9,500 hollow-cylinder pilings
approximately 55 inches in diameter; the largest piles ever driven at the time of the first span's
construction in 1955. Since the second span opened to the public in 1969, a drawbridge has
been added, along with a tracking device to detect approaching barges during foggy conditions.
The idea of a bridge spanning Lake Pontchartrain dates back to the early 19th Century
and Bernard de Marigny, the founder of Mandeville. He started a ferry service that continued to
operate into the mid 1930s. In the 1920s, a proposal called for the creation of artificial islands
that would then be linked by a series of bridges. The financing for this plan would come from
selling homesites on the islands. The modern Causeway started to take form in 1948 when
Ernest M Loeb Jr envisioned the project. Due to his lobbying and vision the Louisiana
Legislature created what is now the Causeway Commission. The Louisiana Bridge Company
was formed to construct the bridge, who in turn appointed James E. Walters, Sr to direct the
project.
The original Causeway was a two-lane span, measuring 23.86 miles (38.40 km) in length, that
opened in 1956 at a cost of $30.7 million. A parallel two-lane span, 1/100th of a mile (15 m)
longer than the original, opened on May 10, 1969 at a cost of $26 million. The Causeway has
always been a toll bridge. Until 1999, tolls were collected from traffic going in each direction. To
alleviate congestion on the south shore, toll collections were eliminated on 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 for southbound traffic only.
The opening of the Causeway boosted the fortunes of small North Shore communities by
reducing drive time into New Orleans by up to 50 minutes, bringing the North Shore into
the New Orleans metropolitan area. Prior to the Causeway, residents of St. Tammany Parish
used either the Maestri Bridge on U.S. Route 11 or the Rigolets Bridge on U.S. Route 90, both
near Slidell, Louisiana or on the west side via U.S. Route 51 through Manchac, Louisiana.
After Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, videos collected showed damage to the bridge, but
the damage was mostly on the unused turnaround on the older southbound span; the structural
foundations remained intact. The Causeways have never sustained major damage of any sort
due to hurricanes and other natural occurrences, a rarity in the causeway community. The
existing fiber optic cable plant was blown out of the tray but remained intact per optical time
domain reflectometer (OTDR) analysis. With the I-10 Twin Span Bridge severely damaged, the
Causeway was used as a major route for recovery teams staying in highlands to the North to
get into New Orleans. The Causeway reopened first to emergency traffic and then to the
general public, with tolls suspended, on September 19. Tolls were reinstated by mid-October.



Lake Pontchartrain Causeway- cel mai lung pod autostrada pea pa din
lume
Compus din 24 mile lungime, deschideri paralele, Lake Pontchartrain Causeway este cel mai
lung pod autostrada pe apa si unul din cele mai vechi poduri din beton precomprimat construit
in SUA. Inginerii au incarcat piesele podului pe barje si le-au remorcat la punctele de
constructie de pe lac. Podurile duble sunt sustinute de mai mult de 9 500 piloni cilindrici de
aproximativ 55 cm in diametru, cele mai mari pile au condus la acea perioada a primei
constructii in 1955. Intrucit , cea de-a doua deschidere a fost pentru public in 1969, un pod a
fost adaugat impreuna cu un dispozitiv de urmarire pentru a detecta apropierea barjelor in
timpul conditiilor de ceata.
Ideea deschiderii unui pod Lake Pontchartrain dateaza de la inceputul sec. 19 si Bernard de
marigny, fondatorul Mandeville. El a initiat un serviciu de feribot care a continuat sa opereze in
mijlocul anilor 1930. In 1920, o propunere a soliciatat crearea de insule artificial care ar fi legate
de o serie de poduri. Finantarea pentru acest plan ar fi venit din vinzarea de homesites pe
insule. Causeway modern a inceput sa ia forma in 1948 cind Ernest M Loeb Jr si-a imaginat
proiectul. Datorita lobby sau si viziunea Legistratura Louisiana a creat ceea ce este acum
Comisia Causeway. Compania Louisiana Bridge a fost formata sa construiasca podul , care la
rindul sau James E. Walters, Sr ar conduce proiectul.
Causeway a fost initial o deschidere de doua benzi, masurind 23,86 mile (38,40 km) in lungime,
care s-a deschis in 1956 la un prt de 30,7 milioane dolari. O paralela de doua benzi de control
1/100
th
de o mila (15 m) mai lunga decit initiala, s-a deschis pe 10 Mai in 1969 la un cost de 26
milioane dolari. Causeway a fost intotdeauna un pod de taxa. Pina in 1999, taxele erau
colectate din trafic , mergind in orice directie. Pentru a reduce congestionarea pe malul se sud,
colectiile de taxe au fost eliminate pe malul de nord. Taxele standart pentru autoturisme s-au
schimbat de la 1,50 dolari in fiecare directie la 3 dolari taxa colectata pe malul de nord doar
pentru traficul de sud.
Deschiderea Causeway a amplificat soarta comunitatilor mici North Shore prin reducerea
unitatii de timp in New Orleans cu pina la 50 minute, aducind zona metropolitan din North Shore
in New Orleans. Inainte de Causeway, rezidenti ai parohiei St. Tammany au folosit Podul
Maestri din SUA Calea 11 sau Podul Rigolets SUA Calea 90, ambele linga Slidell, Louisiana
sau pe partea de vest prin intermediul rutei 51 prin Manchac, Louisiana.
Dupa uraganul Katrina pe 29 august, 2005, video colectate au aratat deteriorarea podului, dar
prejudicial a fost mai mult pe redresarea neutilizata , mai spre sud, bazele structurale au ramas
intacte. Causeway nu a suferit niciodata daune majore de orice fel din cauza uraganelor sau a
altor evenimente naturale, o raritate in comunitatea de drum pietruit. Instalatia existenta a
cablului de fibra optica a fost aruncata din tava dar a ramas intact pet imp de domeniu
Reflectometru optic (OTDR) de analiza. Cu Podul I-10 Twin Span grav deteriorate, Causeway
a fost folosit ca ruta majora pentru echipele de recuperare care stau in zonele muntoase de
Nord pentru a intra in New Orleans. Causeway s-a redeschis in primul rind pentru traficul de
urgenta si apoi pentru publicul larg, cu taxe suspendate pe 19 septembrie. Taxele au fost
reinstabilite de la mijlocul lunii Octombrie.

Vocabulary:
Span(n)- a structure that allows people or vehicles to cross an obstacle such as a river or
canal or railway etc.(deschidere);
Highway(n)- a major road for any form of motor transport(autostrada);
Concrete(n)- a strong hard building material composed of sand and gravel and cement and
water( beton);
Barge(n)- a flatbottom boat for carrying heavy loads (especially on canals)(barja);
To tow(v)- drag behind( a remorca);
Piling(n)- a column of wood or steel or concrete that is driven into the ground to provide
support for a structure(pilon);
To alleviate(v)- make easier( a atenua, a reduce);
Toll(n)- a fee levied for the use of roads or bridges (used for maintenance) (taxa);
Shore(n)- the land along the edge of a body of water(mal);
To boost(v)- increase( a amplifica);
Tray(n)- an open receptacle for holding or displaying or serving articles or food (tava);
Highland(n)- elevated (e.g., mountainous) land( zona muntoasa).













Consisting of parallel, 24-mile-long spans, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is the world's
longest overwater highway bridge and one of the oldest prestressed concrete bridges built in the
U.S. The twin bridges are supported by more than 9,500 hollow-cylinder pilings approximately
55 inches in diameter. The idea of a bridge spanning Lake Pontchartrain dates back to the early
19th Century. In the 1920s, a proposal called for the creation of artificial islands that would then
be linked by a series of bridges. The financing for this plan would come from selling homesites
on the islands. The modern Causeway started to take form in 1948 when Ernest M Loeb Jr
envisioned the project. The Causeway has always been a toll bridge. Until 1999, tolls were
collected from traffic going in each direction. To alleviate congestion on the south shore, toll
collections were eliminated on the northbound span. The opening of the Causeway boosted the
fortunes of small North Shore communities by reducing drive time into New Orleans by up to 50
minutes, bringing the North Shore into the New Orleans metropolitan area. After Hurricane
Katrina on August 29, 2005, videos collected showed damage to the bridge, but the damage
was mostly on the unused turnaround on the older southbound span; the structural foundations
remained intact. The Causeways have never sustained major damage of any sort due to
hurricanes and other natural occurrences, a rarity in the causeway community.