Holiday Drive bridge to be closed during Gen. de Gaulle canal construction

The federally funded Algiers drainage project, which has hardened Gen. de Gaulle’s canal from Wall Boulevard to Behrman Place, will resume next month, when a construction crews will begin extending the flume eastward toward Holiday Drive.

And while the $550 million project is designed to remove more rain water from Algiers’ streets faster when complete, it will not be without pain for commuters.

Holiday Drive’s James W. Hibben Memorial Bridge, which spans the Gen. de Gaulle drainage canal, will be closed as long as construction on the flume is within 100 feet of the 66-year-old spans, federal and local officials confirmed Thursday night during a public meeting at the Algiers Regional Library.

The reason, officials said, is safety.

Hardening the drainage canal with the concrete 45-foot-wide, 5-foot-deep flume includes driving large sheets piles into the ground, causing vibrations that could damage the Hibben bridge, officials said.

Once construction is complete, which is expected by the summer of 2026, the bridge will be inspected to ensure it’s not damaged, officials said.

Retiring Hibben bridge, whether with a new one or with a covered culvert like the rest of Gen. de Gaulle’s crossover streets, is not included in the federally funded project. Replacing it will be left to local or state officials.

According to one attendee at Tuesday night’s meeting, the Algiers Neighborhood Presidents Council was recently told that the city’s plans for Hibben bridge after the drainage project is complete calls for topping its approaches with a fresh layer of asphalt.

Just when Hibben bridge will be closed and construction reaches within 100 feet of the span remains to be seen.

The company that was awarded the $29 million contract, Omega Foundation Services Inc., of Slaughter, La., is expected to begin moving equipment and job site offices to the Behrman Place area of Gen. de Gaulle within days. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gave the company notice to begin the project on July 30.

As part of its contract, the company must develop a “traffic control plan,” which must be approved by federal and local officials. It’s expected to include detour signage.

And Algiers residents might recall that during the first phase of drainage canal improvements, the construction crews periodically closed a lane of Gen. de Gaulle.

This phase of the drainage project picks up where the first phase left off at Behrman Place. Flume will be installed eastward to the canal’s confluence with the Algiers Outfall Canal.

However, there’ll be a break in the flume: At Hibben bridge.

Until Hibben bridge is replaced, if it’s ever replaced, the existing earthen canal bank would be harden with stone.

As construction commences, construction crews will be removing trees along Gen. de Gaulle’s neutral ground, just as they did before canal construction began on the first phase between Wall Boulevard and Behrman Place. During that phase, 271 trees were removed, more than half of which were crape myrtles, according to information presented Thursday.

New trees will be planted along Gen. de Gaulle to replace those that were removed, officials said Thursday. A contract to replace them is expected to be awarded in the fall.

Officials said Thursday that the public can find information about the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Projects through the Sewerage & Water Board’s and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ websites:

Click here for the Sewerage & Water Board projects website

Click here for the Corps of Engineers’ project website.