Skip to main content

Belle Chasse Tunnel and Judge Perez Bridge

Image
By

Being in an area that is surrounded by water, between bayous, lakes, rivers and the Gulf of Mexico, the New Orleans area is home to some notable bridges, such as the famous Huey Long Bridge and the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. However, there are some lesser known water crossings in this corner of Louisiana to check out as well, such as the Belle Chasse Tunnel and Judge Perez Bridge, located in the New Orleans suburb of Belle Chasse, Louisiana.

The Belle Chasse Tunnel carries southbound traffic and the accompanying Judge Perez Bridge carries northbound traffic as it crosses the Algiers Canal that is part of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Just over the border into Plaquemines Parish from Jefferson Parish, LA 23 is the highway that use these crossings to continue its southward march towards the southern end of the Mississippi River delta and serves the roughly 23,000 residents of Plaquemines Parish along the way. The 800 foot long Belle Chasse Tunnel came first, as it had opened in 1956. The parallel and much longer Judge Perez Bridge is a vertical lift bridge at 2,557 feet in length and was opened in 1968, in order to increase traffic capacity to and from Plaquemines Parish. More recently, the Belle Chasse Tunnel was featured in scenes from the movie Kidnap, starring Halle Berry and was filmed in various locations around New Orleans.


However, both the bridge and tunnel are nearing the end of their useful lives and are no long for this world, so visit this piece of historical infrastructure while you have the chance.. There are plans to replace both the Belle Chasse Tunnel and the Judge Perez Bridge with a four lane bridge over the Algiers Canal. The LA 23 corridor has a current average daily traffic volume of over 33,000 vehicles per day and serves as a primary access point to residents, business and industry of Plaquemines Parish, which means it is vital to have an efficient crossing of the Algiers Canal. The planned replacement bridge is meant to benefit the Belle Chasse Naval Air Station and provide more efficient commute times in both day-to-day activities and hurricane evacuations. The tunnel often leaks, which forced the bridge to be converted to two way traffic whenever there was a leaky tunnel. The replacement project will provide a new fixed span bridge carrying traffic in both directions, thereby reducing delays associated with operations and maintenance of the older bridge and tunnel.

The new bridge in Belle Chasse will be Louisiana's first public-private partnership in order to finance a major transportation project, as a legislative panel approved a $162 million plan in December 2019 to replace the existing Judge Perez Bridge. However, that means that tolls will be levied for travelers crossing the new bridge, as unpopular as that may be. While construction on the new bridge is expected to start in 2021 and be completed in 2024. With four lanes of traffic, there will also be a multi-use bicycle path that is built as part of the project. However, the Belle Chasse Tunnel itself will not be replaced and motor vehicle traffic will be moved to the new bridge. I didn't see anything stating what the tunnel would be used for, so perhaps there is a future for the Belle Chasse Tunnel after all.






How to Get There:


Sources and Links:
Belle Chasse Tunnel - Bridgehunter.com
Belle Chasse Tunnel Video - Roadwaywiz on YouTube
Judge Perez Bridge - Bridgehunter.com
Project Profile: Belle Chasse Bridge and Tunnel Replacement - Federal Highway Administration
Plan for $162M new Belle Chasse bridge to be paid for with tolls wins approval - The Advocate
Labels:
Location: Belle Chasse Tunnel, 7434-7452 LA-23, Belle Chasse, LA 70037, USA

Comments

Unknown said…
residents of belle chasse often refer to the tunnel as "belle chasse car wash" due to the many leaks. i lived there for 30 years.
5:39 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more

Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

By
  The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more