The Lake Ponchatrain Causeway

Travis, Holly, the kids and I all got to experience a feat of engineering first hand when we drove across the Lake Ponchatrain Causeway Sunday, July 28th.

The Lake Ponchatrain Causeway is a 24-mile bridge that crosses Lake Ponchatrain almost right in the middle. The bridge runs from Jefferson Parish (New Orleans) to Mandeville, which is a little town about 25 miles east of Ponchatoula.

My grandma and grandpa Rader are well-traveled and they specifically remember several things about Louisiana, the Causeway being one of them. My grandpa says he can remember being out in the middle of the Lake, unable to see the shores! Can you imagine?

Well, you can't really imagine what it's like to be on a bridge in the middle of a Lake and not see either shore. You have to experience it! So we did. We paid the toll of $3.00 to drive across from Mandeville to New Orleans on our way to the zoo. That was $3.00 well spent, if you ask me. Thanks for the tip, Grandma and Grandpa Rader!

The Causeway (as it's called for short) consists of two bridges, a north-bound and south-bound bridge. Each bridge services two lanes of traffic and both are connected by crossovers every few miles for emergencies.

The ride accross the causeway was a sensory experience for everyone in the minivan. Surreal is the word I would use to describe the moment you realize you are driving in the middle of the lake at the mercy of the bridge that was engineered roughly 35 years ago! The view was amazing, especially when the gray skyline of New Orleans faintly came into view through the muggy haze of the lake. There were boats, of course. They were big boats, but looked tiny in the context of the lake.

I am including a web link to the Causeway website if you'd like to know more about it. The information really is pretty fascinating. Go to the list at the right of this blog and click on the Lake Ponchatrain Causeway to see pictures and learn more.

We'll take you over it if you come down, too!