The Atchafalaya Basin Bridge, also known as the Louisiana Airborne Memorial Bridge,[1] is a pair of parallel bridges in the US state ofLouisiana between Baton Rouge and Lafayette which carries Interstate 10 over the Atchafalaya Basin. With a total length of 96,095 feet (29,290 m) or 18.2 miles, it is the fourteenth longest bridge in the world by total length.
The bridge includes two exits: one for Whiskey Bay (LA 975) and another for Butte La Rose (LA 3177). While the bridges run parallel for most of their length, they merge when crossing the Whiskey Bay Pilot Channel and the Atchafalaya River. The average daily traffic count is (as of 2011) 24,540 vehicles.
Accidents occur frequently near the two river crossings as both are very narrow and lack shoulders. In 1999, Governor Mike Foster lowered the speed limit on the bridge from 70 MPH to 60 MPH. In 2003, the Louisiana Legislature enacted new traffic regulations for the bridge. The speed limit for18-wheelers was lowered to 55 MPH, and they must remain in the right lane while crossing the bridge.
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