Skip to main content

Arcadis for Calcasieu Bridge replacement work

Replacement of the 70-year-old Calcasieu River Bridge in the US state of Louisiana will revive a connection between the cities of Lake Charles and Westlake.
By David Arminas June 12, 2025 Read time: 2 mins
The 2km-long Calcasieu River Bridge, opened in 1952, is an arched cantilever, rivet-connected Warren through truss for the main span located on Interstate 10 between Lake Charles and Westlake (image © Typhoonski/Dreamstime)

Arcadis has been appointed to support the design work for the I-10 Calcasieu Bridge Improvements Project in the US state of Louisiana.

The replacement of the 70-year-old Calcasieu River Bridge will revive a vital connection between the Louisiana cities of Lake Charles and Westlake. With a project cost valued at US$2.3 billion, the Calcasieu Design Partners will upgrade a crucial 9km stretch of I-10, delivering enhancements to improve safety, connectivity and sustainability.

The 2km-long Calcasieu River Bridge, opened in 1952, is an arched cantilever, rivet-connected Warren through truss for the main span located on Interstate 10 between Lake Charles and Westlake. “The Calcasieu River Bridge has served the region for 70 years, but as it nears the end of its lifespan, the need for intelligent, modern and sustainable solutions is more critical than ever,” said Alan Brookes, chief executive of Arcadis.

Arcadis is working as part of a joint venture with Janssen and Spaans Engineering, Modjeski and Masters as well as Huval and Associates – collectively known as the Calcasieu Design Partner. The team will support Louisiana Bridge Builders, a construction joint venture between Arcadis’ key client Acciona and Sacyr Construction.

The project is overseen by the concessionaire, Calcasieu Bridge Partners (Acciona, Sacyr and Plenary), in collaboration with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, also a key client of Arcadis.

Over eight years, Arcadis’ will update existing interchanges and roadways. Pulling on expertise from across North America, the Netherlands and the company’s Global Excellence Centers in India, Romania and the Philippines, Arcadis will deliver a range of specialised intelligent mobility, engineering and design services.

These include traffic engineering, including the development of a transportation management plan and the design of permanent signage, signals and pavement markings. There will be structural design work for sign support structures, roadway and drainage as well as bridge design for the I-10/I-210 flyover ramp and hydraulic modeling for the main span bridge.

Related Content

  • New version of world’s longest floating bridge
    August 12, 2014
    The creation of a new version of the world’s longest floating bridge in Seattle, in the US state of Washington, is among the world’s most eye-catching current bridge engineering projects. It is an impressive example of the health of the bridge replacement sector, particularly in the US, leaving it well placed for growth. Guy Woodford reports Already the world’s longest floating bridge at over 2,310m long, the Governor Albert D Rosellini-Evergreen Point Floating Bridge in Seattle in the United States is g
  • High-tech, high places: 3M in US and MetService in New Zealand
    August 1, 2017
    The US state of Michigan sets up a high-tech test road while New Zealand’s transport officials buy in some high-tech weather forecasting. The road safety division of 3M will provide the US state of Michigan with lane markings and retroreflective signs for a connected vehicle technologies trial along the I-75 highway. Around 5km of the Interstate 75 work zone in Oakland County will be transformed over the next four months to improve safety for drivers and test advanced vehicle-to-infrastructure technologie
  • Arched bridge challenge over the Oparno
    February 29, 2012
    For environmental reasons planners decided in favour of the challenging task of constructing a 13-field arched highway bridge over the Oparno Valley in the Bohemian area of the Czech Republic. The 258m bridge, whose reinforced concrete arch has a span of 135m, straddles the valley without any bridge piers, transferring the loads in the form of compressive forces into the foundations.