# The Huey P. Long Bridge



## MrFSS (Oct 1, 2013)

There is a lot of comments made about this bridge from time to time on the forum. Thought you might enjoy this short video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkqmvJXkWFU


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## Ryan (Oct 1, 2013)

That's awesome, thanks for sharing. Riding over that on a train has got to be quite the experience, you're up so high for so long.


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## the_traveler (Oct 1, 2013)

Nice. But I'd still rather be in the center of the bridge!


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## The Davy Crockett (Oct 1, 2013)

the_traveler said:


> Nice. But I'd still rather be in the center of the bridge!


Sounds like you've got a case of 'cab-in' fever?

EDIT: BTW: One of the most sure ways to diagnose this ailment is to determine if the patient is foaming at the mouth.


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## the_traveler (Oct 1, 2013)

The Davy Crockett said:


> the_traveler said:
> 
> 
> > Nice. But I'd still rather be in the center of the bridge!
> ...


Not cab-in fever. It's trainitis - the only cure is to get onto a moving train ASAP!


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## fairviewroad (Oct 1, 2013)

Nice video. Can someone explain the comment made at 1:39 in the video:

"The rail section is the reason there is no 'bump' in the center of the bridge."

I'm not quite picturing what he means by "bump" in this situation.


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## the_traveler (Oct 1, 2013)

I can't say for certain about the comment, but most (all?) highway bridges have a plate in the center, or at least between each span. (The "bump".) I think with the tracks there, it is not needed.


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## PRR 60 (Oct 1, 2013)

fairviewroad said:


> Nice video. Can someone explain the comment made at 1:39 in the video:
> 
> "The rail section is the reason there is no 'bump' in the center of the bridge."
> 
> I'm not quite picturing what he means by "bump" in this situation.


Highway design can use steeper grades and more severe changes in grades (called "vertical curves") than railroads. For that reason, highway bridges that need high clearance over the waterway are pretty steep heading up and down, and across the middle span often have a sharp change from the grade up to the grade down - a vertical curve with a small radius.

To function as a railroad bridge, particularly one that sees heavy freight trains, the grades up and down have to be reasonably gentle, and the change from the up grade to the down grade has to be over a long distance - a vertical curve with a large radius. The combination of the gentle grades up and down, and the large radius vertical curve across the main span, would give the appearance of not having the typical highway bridge "hump."


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## Bob Dylan (Oct 1, 2013)

When i was a Kid we would drive over this Bridge and we would tell each other that we were Flying! When riding the Sunset Ltd. (SP)you had the Huey Long Bridge leaving New Orleans and the Pecos High Bridge in West Texas! They have been Worked on, Widened and Repainted through the Years and still see Heavy useage but are still viable Bridges! Good Engineering without the Benefit of Computers!  Thanks for Posting! :hi:


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## jis (Oct 1, 2013)

The road bridge shown in the video is post-widening after Hurricane Katrina. The original bridge had the roads hanging off the side off of the railroad main span. The new road spans were added as part of the widening project. As I seem to recall pre-widening there were only two narrow lanes of traffic each way. I had driven across that bridge several times pre-Katrina. The new bridge has added additional spans to carry three wide lanes of traffic in each direction and leaving only the railroad on the original span.


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## fairviewroad (Oct 1, 2013)

PRR 60 said:


> fairviewroad said:
> 
> 
> > Nice video. Can someone explain the comment made at 1:39 in the video:
> ...


That all makes sense, thanks. I'm not sure I'd use the word "bump" as the videographer did to describe it. I think your term "hump" is a bit

more descriptive.


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