New bridge on Niblett’s Bluff Road will improve safety and drainage
Published 6:15 pm Saturday, July 30, 2022
- Construction crews are making Niblett’s Bluff Road and bridge easier to navigate along with improving drainage. (Rita LeBleu / Southwest Daily News)
Calcasieu Parish Police Jury reported on the scope of its bridge replacement and realignment project in Vinton. It includes the replacement of the existing bridge on Niblett’s Bluff Road west of Vinton approximately one-half mile west of La. Highway 109.
The road will also be realigned, according to Parish Engineer John Bruce. This realignment will the reduce curvature.
The bridge replacement includes replacing timber pilings with concrete, improving the structural rating of the bridge and reducing the required maintenance.
Calcasieu Parish Project Manager is Cliff Vanicor, PE. Contractor is Merric.
Construction of the approximately $6.5 million project began in April 2021. It is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2023.
The new bridge, with its two travel lanes twelve feet wide each and its two shoulders six feet wide each, will be 150-feet long. The existing bridge is 55-feet long.
The increased bridge length will reduce the drainage channel restriction at the bridge site, improving drainage performance.
