The Department of Transportation and Development of the state of Louisiana, in the United States, has resolved today the construction of a bridge over the Calcasieu River in favor of a consortium participated by the Spanish construction companies Acciona and Sacyr. The firms led by José Manuel Entrecanales and Manuel Manrique have won a contract worth 1.9 billion euros (2.1 billion dollars) that will allow the remodeling of the I-10 interstate highway along 8 kilometers in the Lake Charles area.
The construction of this new bridge will replace the current one, built in the 50s; and also entails the execution of their respective accesses, service roads and interchange nodes with Interstate 210 and other local highways and roads. A level crossing of the railway infrastructure located in the vicinity of the highway will also be removed.
As local Governor John Bel Edwards and Louisiana Department of Transportation Secretary Eric Kalivoda revealed today, work will begin in 2024 and run for seven years. The local administration has opted for the consortium of the Spanish company after receiving two proposals last June.
The proposed design will seek to minimize traffic during the construction of the new bridge, which will have more lanes and will be lower than the current one. Transit over the new bridge will entail the payment of a toll, which will vary according to the type of vehicle and will be indexed to the CPI.
