A New Bridge For the Bogue Falaya Bottleneck
St. Tammany Parish’s World War II-era Bogue Falaya bridge will be replaced with a modern bridge to help with the bottleneck traffic. The $30 million project will alleviate the traffic as you cross over the old bridge on US 190 between I12 and Covington. The three new lanes turn into two-lanes crossing over the 1940’s-vintage bridge. “It’s been an issue for years,” replies David Fitzgerald, Parish Council member.
The ancient bridge is located just east of downtown Covington and is a main thoroughfare for St. Tammany Parish today like it was just after World War II. It was perfect when US 190 was a small country road. Now commuters from the parish, I-12 and Lake Pontchartrain Causeway fight to get over the bridge.
St. Tammany Parish’s population climbed 13% in just ten years from 2010 – 2020 to 270,000. For the counted population there are around 330,000 vehicles registered to the parish. There are more vehicles than there are people in the community. The Office of Motor Vehicles feel that they are constantly trying to play catchup. In fact, one day can have as many as 70,000 vehicles go over the Bogue Falaya bridge.
Travelers and commuters can see the beginnings of the project as the crews have placed signs along US 190 warning of the delays from the construction. The bridge will be replaced in two phases, the first phase will be the northbound and the second phase will be the southbound. Each direction will have two 12 foot wide traffic lanes along with shoulders. The new bridge is slated to be completed by 2025 according to the Department of Transportation and Development.
“We’re somewhat worried about the construction. I believe it’ll be good for business after it’s done,” says Colin Patrick, co-owner of Pat’s Seafood Market and Cajun Deli.
