James Construction
Fourchon to Leeville Bridge – Phase 1A – LA1
What makes it interesting?
This project will replace the sinking LA1 highway by constructing one of the longest bridges in Louisiana and the Americas. When complete, the LA1 Bridge will be almost as long as the nearby Pontchartrain Bridge in New Orleans, generally regarded as the world’s longest bridge. The project will be built in phases as funding permits, with the most critical sections of the project (the southernmost) built first. The first 9 miles of construction are now complete and the portion of the bridge from Leeville to Port Fourchon is open. Roughly 18 percent of the nation’s oil supply comes through Port Fourchon.
How HCSS Software assisted with this project
James Construction bid the project at $137,479,548.15 and won by $807,670.54 (0.58 percent). The project required that two of 12 different substructure alternates had to be bid. JCG used HeavyBid’s quote system extensively to evaluate the different product alternatives required. HeavyBid allowed them to quickly and accurately look at the project and its individual components immediately prior to the bid. Without HeavyBid, JCG would not have been able to make the decisions they made to win this bid.
Project Description:
Fourchon to Leeville Bridge – Phase 1A of the LA1 Project consisted of approximately 5.34 miles of 40-foot wide, two-lane elevated highway south of the Leeville Bridge to LA 3090 in Port Fourchon, Louisiana. The project is designed so that major portions can be constructed using “top-down” construction methods to protect the sensitive wetlands and marshes.
This area of the state’s sensitive wetlands has been featured nationally as being the victim of coastal erosion and ground subsidence, and the existing LA1 highway is literally sinking. Each year, tropical storms pose more of a threat to LA1, which now often floods in low-level storms and strands coastal residents, tourists, and the oil industry workers who use Port Fourchon as a primary access to Gulf operations.
The project had an original contract duration of 1460 calendar days and endured two named hurricanes.
