page_title: Industrial Canal
section_title: Bridges over the canal
hierarchical_section_title: Industrial Canal / Bridges over the canal
caption_attribution_description: English: The Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC), commonly known as the Industrial Canal, in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. The canal connects the Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain. The view is to the south-southwest looking over New Orleans. The Claiborne Avenue Bridge crosses the canal in the foreground. The Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans is to the right of the Canal, the Lower 9th Ward to the left.
context_page_description: The Industrial Canal is a 5.5 mile waterway in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The waterway's proper name, as used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and on NOAA nautical charts, is Inner Harbor Navigation Canal. The more common "Industrial Canal" name is used locally, both by commercial mariners and by landside residents.
  The canal connects the Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain. It separates New Orleans East from the rest of the city, and the Lower 9th Ward from the Upper 9th Ward. Approximately half of the waterway's course, from Industrial Lock to a point north of the Florida Avenue Bridge, is confluent with both the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet.
  The entirety of the canal passes through the 9th Ward of the city. Along the riverfront, the canal constitutes the boundary of the Upper 9th Ward on the upriver side of the canal and the Lower 9th Ward neighborhood on the downriver side. Near the lake, it is generally considered to be the eastern boundary of the Gentilly neighborhood and the western boundary of New Orleans East.
context_section_description: There are eight bridges over the Industrial Canal. Each provides sufficient vertical clearance for ship traffic. The bridges, beginning at the north end of the canal, are:
  Seabrook Bridge
  It is a medium-rise twin bascule, four-lane roadway bridge. The roadway is Lakeshore Drive, connecting to Leon C. Simon Drive on the upper side of the bridge, Hayne Boulevard on the lower side. The bridge is officially named Senator Ted Hickey Bridge. It is operated by the Orleans Levee District. Normally it stays in the down position for vehicular traffic, but it provides sufficient clearance for most marine traffic.
  Seabrook Railroad Bridge
  It is a bascule railroad bridge carrying two railroad tracks. It is owned and operated by Port of New Orleans. It normally stays in the up position. Amtrak's Crescent uses this bridge.  Automobile traffic used this bridge prior to the construction of the bridge above.  The former automobile lanes, with their deteriorated wooden decks, still straddle the railroad span.
  Danziger Bridge
  It is a lift bridge with seven vehicular lanes (US Highway 90 / Chef Menteur Highway). When this bridge was completed in 1988, replacing a previous bridge of the same name, it was the widest lift bridge in the world. Most marine traffic is accommodated in the down position.
  I-10 High Rise Bridge
  It is a high-rise six-lane freeway, referred to locally as "the I-10 high-rise" or just "the high-rise."
  Almonaster Avenue Bridge
  It is a bascule bridge with two railroad tracks and one vehicular lane in each direction, straddling the railroad bridge. It is owned and operated by the Port of New Orleans. Since Hurricane Katrina destroyed the roadways leading up to it, the bridge has been closed to vehicular traffic.  The bridge continues to operate for railroad and marine traffic.
  Florida Avenue Bridge
  It is a lift bridge with one railroad track and two vehicular lanes. It is owned and operated by the Port of New Orleans. A parallel four-lane high-rise vehicular bridge is planned.
  Claiborne Avenue Bridge
  It is a lift bridge, officially named Judge William Seeber Bridge, with four vehicular lanes (North Claiborne Avenue). It accommodates most marine traffic in the down position.
  St. Claude Avenue Bridge
  It is a bascule bridge with four vehicular lanes. This was originally a combination railroad/automobile bridge, with the two pairs of railroad tracks in the center of the lift span and automobile lanes straddling it.  However, the railroad is long gone, and one lane in each direction passes through the truss of the bridge and one lane passes alongside the truss.  The bridge is integrated into the Industrial Lock structure, on the river side of the lock chamber. It raises when marine traffic enters or exits the lock.
caption: Aerial view of the Industrial Canal and Claiborne Avenue Bridge. View is to the south-southwest over New Orleans. If realized, the replacement lock would occupy the portion of the canal in the foreground, north of the Claiborne Bridge.
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