BELLE CHASSE, La. (WGNO) — Drivers who frequent the Belle Chasse Tunnel will soon have to take a new route. A permanent closure for the 67-year-old tunnel is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 20.
“The pieces of aging infrastructure are sorely in need of updating so, the tunnel is being shut down at the same juncture in which that southbound traffic goes on to the new bridge,” said the public information officer for the project, Abbe Ginn. “It will happen simultaneously.”
It is expected to be a smooth transition once the bridge opens, but the upgrades are currently causing major traffic jams.
Matthew Cate owns a tire and auto business just a few feet away from where the tunnel is.
“Traffic is definitely busy all the time,” Cate said. “They’re flipping the back gate to the base. So, that’s going to bring even more traffic really on this section right here. Just because of that alone.”
Ginn says the increase in traffic is expected. However, drivers in the area are fed up and ready for the tunnel to close.
“It’s horrible right now but hopefully the bridge will fix everything,” said Dimitri, a driver who passes through the area quite often.
However, there is one setback. According to Ginn, a toll will be required for the bridge, but not until sometime in 2024.
“I’m happy about the bridge, not happy about the toll,” said Cate. “So that’s pretty much what everyone’s saying across the board.”
Ginn says the good outweighs the bad.
“This bridge is not going to lift the current existing bridge list. Therefore, it causes a lot of traffic delays and impacts as marine vessels have to go through,” said Ginn. “But the new bridge is 73 feet in height. It will not lift. So, boats can go right underneath. They won’t cause those, you know, 20, 15-minute extra time that people have to add on to their commute here.”
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