Florida Avenue Bridge, Vertical lift railway bridge in New Orleans, Louisiana

The Florida Avenue Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge spanning the Industrial Canal with one railroad track, two vehicle lanes, and sidewalks. The structure allows ships to pass underneath when the span is raised for maritime traffic.

The Port of New Orleans built the original Florida Avenue Bridge in the 1920s as one of four bridges carrying rail traffic across the Industrial Canal. The span was removed in 2000 because it obstructed marine navigation. Its steel replacement, designed by Modjeski and Masters and built by American Bridge for about $47 million, opened in May 2005, funded mainly by a Truman-Hobbs appropriation.

The bridge carries the name of Florida Avenue, formerly the Florida Walk along the Florida Canal. It was one of four bridges the Port of New Orleans built in the 1920s for railroad access across the Industrial Canal; the St. Claude, Almonaster and Seabrook bridges survive from that group.

In the lowered position the span sits less than five feet above low water, so it must be raised for nearly all towboat and barge traffic moving between the Mississippi River and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Crossings by road or on foot can therefore be held up; the Port of New Orleans posts bridge alerts on its website.

The bridge uses a lift system that allows both trains and vehicles to cross the canal while large ships can pass through unobstructed. This dual function makes it a solution that serves two very different types of traffic at once.