Crescent City Connection, Twin cantilever bridges in New Orleans, United States
The Crescent City Connection is a pair of parallel steel bridges in New Orleans, Louisiana, crossing the Mississippi River with a combined eight general lanes and two reversible lanes for vehicles with multiple occupants. The two structures together form part of United States Highway 90 Business and link the eastern and western banks of the city.
The first span opened in 1958 as the Greater New Orleans Bridge and was the longest cantilever bridge in the United States at the time. The second span went into service in 1988 after seven years of construction.
The name comes from a 1989 public contest and refers to the crescent-shaped bend of the Mississippi that gave the city its nickname. Drivers use the spans daily as a matter-of-fact link between the two banks, while many locals regard them as a permanent part of the skyline.
The spans remain open to traffic around the clock and form a major part of the city road network. Drivers should watch for lane direction changes during rush hours when the middle lanes switch direction.
The spans are the last river crossings before the Mississippi flows into the Gulf of Mexico, roughly 100 miles (160 kilometers) farther south. Their longest single span measures 1575 feet (480 meters) and shows the power of cantilever design.
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