Saint Claude Avenue Bridge

Saint Claude Avenue Bridge. . Built in 1919 by the Bethlehem Steel Co. for the Port of New Orleans, the Saint Claude Bridge is one of the few remaining and most distinctive bascule (French for "seesaw") bridges in Louisiana. It was built onto the foundation of the lock as one of four bridges along the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC) - the "Industrial Canal"., The 93 ½ ft. deck lifts open with the weight moving on a fulcrum in perfect balance with the counterweight at the rear. An original wooden deck carrying both rail and streetcar tracks was replaced with a steel vehicular deck in 1949, and the lift mechanism no longer ties directly to the lock gates. Otherwise, the design remains original, intact, and operational. The bridge's heel trunnion (pivoting point) design was patented by Joseph Strauss, who also designed the Golden Gate Bridge, the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River, and the Potomac River Bridge in Washington, D.C., Reverse Side , For a century, the Saint Claude Bridge has carried much of the vehicular load across the Industrial Canal. It continues to unite the Upper and Lower Ninth Wards and their two National Historic Districts, Bywater and Holy Cross, separated by the excavation of the Industrial Canal in 1923. , On September 10, 1965 the day after Hurricane Betsy, President Lyndon B. Johnson stood on the bridge and directed federal agencies to come quickly with aid. In August 2005, while awaiting federal help after Hurricane Katrina, the bridge became the launch platform for the rescue of thousands by the "Cajun Navy" and others. , The bridge was determined to be eligible for the listing in the National Register of Historic Places by DOTD in 2013. , For 100 years, the Saint Claude Avenue Bridge and the IHNC Lock have contributed to U.S. maritime and engineering advancements along with the history and economic development of New Orleans.