Louisiana Doesn't clean Their Bridges

[bwana39]

Let's talk about the debris on bridges in Louisiana.

They never sweep them. Sand, trash and debris pile up on the shoulders.  If there are no shoulders, the roads just get usably narrower. 

As far as that goes, livestock and blown tires stay on the R.O.W. until either the mowing contractor or prisoner work crews pick them up.  Even then, these groups do not clean on the bridges.

Just run a street sweeper across them a couple of times a year!

[GaryV]

livestock and blown tires stay on the R.O.W. until either the mowing contractor or prisoner work crews pick them up. 

Would't the livestock just wander away?

[bwana39]

livestock and blown tires stay on the R.O.W. until either the mowing contractor or prisoner work crews pick them up. 

Would't the livestock just wander away?

GRRRR dead livestock and wildlife. The stuff what's been struck or runned over...

[DJStephens]

Roadkill.  A lot of it in the Oil fields (permian basin).  Was on Orla Rd in Texas recently (Ranch Road 652) there were several bloated cows on the side of the shoulder.   The vacuum trucks don't slow down for most anything.   Poor critters likely didn't even know what hit them.   

[bwana39]

Roadkill.  A lot of it in the Oil fields (permian basin).  Was on Orla Rd in Texas recently (Ranch Road 652) there were several bloated cows on the side of the shoulder.   The vacuum trucks don't slow down for most anything.   Poor critters likely didn't even know what hit them.

Call TXDOT and they will get them picked up in a day or two.

[bjrush]

It don't rain in Louisiana? They don't have turkey vultures??

[bwana39]

I was more discussing the dirt / sand, tire shreads, and other debris on the bridges. It is a bigger issue than the rotting carrion. Yes there are vultures. This said as a rule, they don't regularly move even large carcasses (horses, cows) out of the traffic lanes.

As to rain, no; rain doesn't help. The debris just blocks the drain vents on the bridges.  They have no debris removal routine.  I wish I had some pictures. This is a secondary reason why Louisiana doesn't sand or chemically treat bridges for icing.

[rlb2024]

As a resident of Louisiana for almost 40 years this is a pet peeve of mine -- the lack of cleaning on the highways.  The Causeway is about the only bridge I'm aware of that has regular cleaning.

About the only time the street sweepers come out is right before the Super Bowl (when it's played in New Orleans) or when one of the national political conventions is held in New Orleans.  (Well with the exception of after most Mardi Gras parades . . .)

[bjrush]

I was more discussing the dirt / sand, tire shreads, and other debris on the bridges. It is a bigger issue than the rotting carrion. Yes there are vultures. This said as a rule, they don't regularly move even large carcasses (horses, cows) out of the traffic lanes.

As to rain, no; rain doesn't help. The debris just blocks the drain vents on the bridges.  They have no debris removal routine.  I wish I had some pictures. This is a secondary reason why Louisiana doesn't sand or chemically treat bridges for icing.

They don't move horses and cows out of traffic lanes??? Is this a troll?

I figure the main reason Louisiana didn't deice roads was they hardly ever have ice

[bwana39]

No, I am not a troll. No the 18 wheelers get to run them (carrion) over 'til they fly off or  squish flat.

North LA has as much ice / snow as DFW, perhaps more. LA closes the freeways and puts the traffic on the surface streets. I-49 closes from the Arkansas state line to Natchitoches and traffic is re-routed to US 71 and SH1.

Used to be the rendering plant would come and get them (carrion), It closed a couple of years ago.

[cjk374]

I think you meant US 71. US 70 don't do a whole lot around here. 

LaDOTD will put sand down on bridges during icy weather. I don't know what good it really does, but they do it. I live in north Louisiana...been here 46 years.

As far as dirty bridges go, it's just not that big of a deal. Tire pieces are picked up by DOTD personnel on occasion, especially on the interstates. I have encountered road kill on bridges...buzzards and crows do show up for clean up duty and what is left gets smashed into oblivion eventually.

[bjrush]

North LA has as much ice / snow as DFW, perhaps more.

Statistics show you're correct. Dallas averages a whopping 1.5 inches of snow per year. Shreveport clocks in at 1.4

[DJStephens]

What did the "Rendering" plant use the carrion for??   Hog meal??   

[bwana39]

I think you meant US 71. US 70 don't do a whole lot around here. 

LaDOTD will put sand down on bridges during icy weather. I don't know what good it really does, but they do it. I live in north Louisiana...been here 46 years.

As far as dirty bridges go, it's just not that big of a deal. Tire pieces are picked up by DOTD personnel on occasion, especially on the interstates. I have encountered road kill on bridges...buzzards and crows do show up for clean up duty and what is left gets smashed into oblivion eventually.

As to the sand, They may over in Beinville or Lincoln  Parishes. They don't in Caddo. They close I-49 and you just slog through the ice on US-71.

As to the debris. What you described is right on the mark. A huge variance from what you would see in Arkansas or even Oklahoma.

[bwana39]

What did the "Rendering" plant use the carrion for??   Hog meal??

They cook it out and make it into by-products primarily for livestock or pet foods.  The last name before it closed was Louisiana Proteins. Before that it was Riegel By-Products.

It stinks like rotting animals. It is why the city got the DEQ to force them to close.

[bwana39]

I know this is a couple of years old. BUT....  I was reminded that Louisiana Doesn't clean Their Bridges this week. Ardot was power washing their I-49 bridges between Texarkana and the state line. LADOTD won't be doing that on I-49 or I-10 or I-220 and that is a pity.

[Rothman]

I know this is a couple of years old. BUT....  I was reminded that Louisiana Doesn't clean Their Bridges this week. Ardot was power washing their I-49 bridges between Texarkana and the state line. LADOTD won't be doing that on I-49 or I-10 or I-220 and that is a pity.

LADOTD doesn't have a salt issue.

[bwana39]

I know this is a couple of years old. BUT....  I was reminded that Louisiana Doesn't clean Their Bridges this week. Ardot was power washing their I-49 bridges between Texarkana and the state line. LADOTD won't be doing that on I-49 or I-10 or I-220 and that is a pity.

LADOTD doesn't have a salt issue.

I agree that salt is not an issue for DOTD on I-49. They just close it if it gets below freezing with ANY winter mix.

My issue is more with debris. Tire parts, leaked frac sand, bumper covers, etc.  Annual cleaning is not solely to remove salt / deicing chemicals. TxDOT sweeps their bridges even below the freeze line (where ever it is in a given year. )

[wriddle082]

Back in 2017 I blew a tire driving across the Audubon Bridge after I hit something that could have been a large rock.  Hard to say what it was, but it was indeed very hard, and most definitely shouldn't have been on that bridge.

[bwana39]

https://www.ksla.com/2022/07/11/dotd-addresses-traffic-hazards-interstate-bridges-caddo-parish/

There is more. I just cannot seem to find it...

[bwana39]

https://www.ksla.com/2022/08/27/mayor-perkins-says-interstate-cleaning-take-place-every-other-month/

I know. It has been a sore spot for me for ages!

[Urban Prairie Schooner]

I always say that Oscar the Grouch lives in Louisiana because he likes to keep the roads garbagey.

(h/t Tim Brown)