Veterans Memorial Bridge

The Veterans Memorial Bridge, also known as the Gramercy Bridge, is a through truss bridge over the Mississippi River. It was built in 1989, making it the second newest Mississippi River Crossings in Louisiana (The John James Audubon Bridge was built in 2011).

In the 1970’s, the Louisiana Department of Highways, District 2 operate 3 ferries, the Luling–Destrehan Ferry, the Edgard–Reserve Ferry, the pedestrian Taft–Norco Ferry. On the morning of October 20, 1976, the Luling–Destrehan Ferry collided with a Norwegian tanker and sank. Of the 96 passengers and crew abord the ferry, 78 were killed, making this the deadliest ferry disaster in United States history. It was later determined that the ferry pilot was intoxicated, and failed to notice or react to the tanker. This accident spurred changes in maritime law and caused the state to focus on removing the ferries. The Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge opened in 1983 to replace the Luling–Destrehan Ferry and the Veterans Memorial Bridge opened in 1989 to replace the Edgard–Reserve Ferry. The Taft–Norco Ferry still operates, and none of the Mississippi River Bridges in Louisiana allow pedestrians.

Prior to 1964, there were only two cities with highway bridges over the Mississippi River on the lower 350 miles of the great river. The need for traffic to cross the river was largely met by a series of ferry crossings, some of which are private ventures, and others that are state operated. The state of Louisiana wishes to replace many of these ferry crossings with highway bridges, but progress is slow. A ferry boat tragedy in 1976 that claimed 78 lives brought national attention to the problem. The I-310 Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge was built directly as a result of the ferry accident, and this bridge at Gramercy followed a decade later.

The bridge at Gramercy carries Louisiana highway LA-3213 over the Mississippi River. The structure is often called the Gramercy Bridge, but its official name is the Veterans Memorial Bridge. While economic development really took off near Donaldson after the Sunshine Bridge was completed, the Veterans Memorial Bridge has yet to realize its full potential. It has helped the local farming industry avoid hauling sugar cane the long way around using another river crossing. Beyond that, the highway going west into rural Louisiana has never been built, leading some to refer to this structure as a bridge to nowhere.

Update—As of June 17, 2008, the ‘Bridge To Nowhere’ is finally connected on both ends. The stub connection on the west end of the bridge was extended two miles to meet with LA-3127. The west end formerly connected only to the Great River Road running along the Mississippi River. The road extension was finished for some time before it finally opened. The power company took months to run power lines one mile down the road to a railroad crossing. Without the railroad crossing being completed, the road could not be opened to highway traffic, making it a ‘Road To Nowhere’ from the ‘Bridge To Nowhere’.

The photo above is a view looking south towards the Veterans Memorial Bridge from a vantage point along the edge of highway LA-3213 located about a mile and a half north of the Mississippi River. The river is 2,300 feet wide at this location, putting the far end of the bridge truss structure about two miles away in this view

truss vs cable stay soil conditions etc. but 1983 Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge is cable stay