Judge Perez Bridge

Judge Perez Bridge
View from car approaching the bridge's lift span. At right is an adjacent railroad bridge.
Coordinates	29°52′18.7″N 90°0′32.0″W
Carries	2 lanes of LA 23 North
Crosses	Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
Locale	Belle Chasse and Terrytown, Louisiana
Maintained by	LaDOTD
Characteristics
Total length	2,654 feet
Longest span	150 feet
Clearance above	100 feet (open), 40 feet (closed)
History
Opened	September 10, 1968
Location

The Judge Perez Bridge, also known as the Belle Chasse Bridge, is a vertical-lift bridge in the U.S. state of Louisiana which carries northbound Louisiana Highway 23 over the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway between Belle Chasse and Terrytown. The bridge is paired with the Belle Chasse Tunnel which carries southbound LA 23. Construction began in March 1967, and the bridge opened for traffic in September 1968. It has been plagued with mechanical issues since it opened. Commuters have had to back down off the bridge due to a malfunction.

History

The bridge was built to relieve traffic from the Belle Chasse Tunnel. It is named after Leander Perez, a local political boss and segregationist. It was part of a parish project of four-laning Highway 23 throughout the road's entire length to Venice. According to the Plaquemines Gazette, the $3.3 million structure was built by Plaquemines Parish using its Parish Royalty Road Fund without charge to local taxpayers. Boh Brothers worked on its construction.

There have been plans for replacing the tunnel and lift bridge with new and improved high-rise structures, and construction has since started to build a bridge that will replace them.