New Orleans: Lake Pontchartrain Causeway

Tweet

As I get more and more into my genealogy research, it is interesting to see how the landscapes of various places have changed since my parents, grandparents, and even earlier generations have lived there. My dad was only four years old when the original southbound side of the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway opened, in 1956. The northbound side was completed in 1969. Basically the Causeway is composed of two parallel bridges crossing Lake Pontchartrain, the second-largest inland saltwater body in the US (despite its name, it's technically an estuary, not a lake.) When it opened, the bridge boasted the Guiness record for Longest Bridge Over a Body of Water, a record it held on its own until 2011 when Jiaozhou Bay Bridge in China opened, which was allegedly longer. In response, Guiness divided the record into two categories -- the Causeway remains the longest in the world using continuous length as a measure, while Jiaozhou Bay is the holder going by aggregate lengths combined. The Causeway's length measures 23.86 miles and cost $46 million to build the southbound side, with an additional $30 million to complete its northbound twin bridge. Both are supported by 9,500 concrete pilings. The history behind the bridge is very interesting, given that the vision for it dates back to the 19th century. Bernard de Marigny, founder of the nearby suburb of Mandeville, had a ferrying service from the 1920's to 30's and proposed the creation of artificial islands across Lake Pontchartrain that would then be linked by a series of bridges. The funding, he said, would come from selling homes on these artificial islands. This never took place. In 1948, Ernest M. Loeb was able to get the project off the ground by lobbying the Louisiana legislature to create what is now the Causeway Commission. The Louisiana Bridge Company was also formed, for the purpose of constructing the bridge. Fun Fact: When crossing the Causeway, there is a point at which no land is visible for 8 miles.