The Judge Perez

Belle Chasse Tunnel and Bridge 

The Judge Perez/Belle Chasse Tunnel and Bridge are critical transportation links for residents, businesses and industries in Westbank Plaquemines Parish. 

Replacing the existing structures will make both daily commutes and hurricane evacuations easier, faster and more reliable. 

It will help encourage economic growth in the area by providing the area’s businesses and industries with a more efficient transportation system. 

A new bridge is also expected be far less expensive to operate and maintain than the existing Belle Chasse Tunnel and Bridge. 

 

Project Purpose & Need

The purpose of Stage 1 – Environmental Assessment (EA) is to develop recommendations for a replacement bridge for the Belle Chasse Tunnel and Bridge. 

Purpose:

•  Improve access to Plaquemines Parish for daily and evacuation traffic with a reliable and efficient Gulf Intercoastal Waterway (GIWW) crossing;

•  Improve GIWW navigation by reducing marine vehicle delay;

•  Support opportunities for industrial and economic growth;

•  Comply with fiscal constraint objectives; and

•  Improve efficiency with lower operations and maintenance costs. 

Need:

•  Traffic stoppage on LA 23 as a result of 10 regular daily vessel openings @ 10 min each

•  Eliminate unscheduled maintenance & repair closures for both bridge & tunnel

•  Improve vehicular & vessel hurricane evacuation capacity, efficiency & reliability

The EA will carefully examine the impacts of building a new bridge (and, if necessary, new roads to connect to the bridge) on nearby buildings, businesses homes and the natural environment.  For more information about Environmental Assessments, click here.

The exact type of bridge is yet to be determined.  The Stage 0 Feasibility Study identified three alternatives, all of which included four travel lanes and a bicycle lane.  See the Project Information page for more information on those alternatives or click here to see an illustration of the bridges from the February, 2013 public meeting.

What improvements are needed?

The project will help address several challenges, including access, safety and efficiency.  Needs to be addressed include:

•  Bridge openings for marine traffic - The Belle Chasse Bridge opens for marine traffic on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway an average of ten times daily, for roughly seven to ten minutes at a time.  This results in extensive traffic delays along Louisiana Highway 23 between Woodland Highway and Engineers Road.  Although the bridge is raised often, the need to raise and lower the bridge also creates maritime traffic delays on the GIWW.

•  Operation and maintenance costs - Both the bridge and the tunnel are showing their age.  The Belle Chase Tunnel was constructed in 1956, and the Judge Perez Bridge in 1968.  Both are subject to frequent, costly and unpredictable operational breakdowns for repair and maintenance.

-  In 2006, the Bridge remained open for more than 13 hours due to operations, maintenance and repairs.

-  In 2007, it was open for more than 28 hours for reasons unrelated to marine traffic.

-  At times, maintenance or breakdowns cause the closure of either the bridge or the tunnel, requiring two-way traffic to detour to the other structure and resulting in extensive travel delays.

These closures are costly for businesses, residents and the Louisiana Department of Transportation (LA DOTD) alike.  Their unpredictable nature results in a lack of user confidence and creates challenges for
LA DOTD in allocating scarce financial resources.

•  Hurricane evacuations - Louisiana Highway 23 is the primary hurricane evacuation route for Westbank of Plaquemines Parish.   Along with the need to move vehicles, hurricane evacuations also create the need to move maritime traffic quickly and efficiently.

•  National security - The Belle Chasse Tunnel and Bridge provide a critical connection to the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, which currently has more than 9,500 employees and is in the process of investing $480 million in various base improvements.

Because of the importance of this transportation link, the New Orleans Regional Planning Commission (NORPC) has included the Belle Chasse Tunnel and Bridge replacement as part of their 10-year plan for maintenance, capacity and preservation projects.  LA DOTD has identified the project as a Priority A Megaproject in the financially constrained State Transportation Plan.