The Golden Meadow Lift Bridge crosses Bayou Lafourche in the town of Golden Meadow, Louisiana, and is the southern terminus of LA-308. Built around 1970, this vertical-lift bridge has a total length of 204 feet with its largest span at 104 feet. The bridge deck is 27.8 feet wide, and there is a vertical clearance above the deck of 22.5 feet. [1] [2]
Lafourche Parish is a parish located in the south of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Thibodaux. The parish was formed in 1807. It was originally the northern part of Lafourche Interior Parish, which consisted of the present parishes of Lafourche and Terrebonne. Lafourche Parish was named after the Bayou Lafourche. City buildings have been featured in television and movies, such as in Fletch Lives, due to its architecture and rich history. At the 2020 census, its population was 97,557.
Cut Off is a census-designated place (CDP) on the Bayou Lafourche in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,533 in 2020. It is part of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. Cut Off's ZIP code is 70345, the area code is 985 and local telephone prefixes are 325, 632 and 693.
Galliano is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) on the Bayou Lafourche in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of 2020, its population was 7,100. It is part of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area.
Golden Meadow French: Canal Yankee is a town along Bayou Lafourche in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,761 in 2020. It is part of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. Its main source of revenue is the oil and gas industry. The fishing and seafood industries also have strong economic impacts, with charter fishing, restaurants, and lodging actively serving patrons. The town was once known as a speed trap, but it has since been bypassed by Hwy 3235 and city traffic has been reduced to mostly locals; however, the speed limit is reduced to 50 mph on Hwy 3235 and said highway is still patrolled heavily. As in other places in Louisiana, there is a noticeable presence of Cajun culture, music, and cuisine.
Larose is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 6,763 in 2020. It is part of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area.
Mathews is a census-designated place (CDP) on Bayou Lafourche in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,273 in 2020. It is part of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area.
Raceland is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) on Bayou Lafourche in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 9,768 in 2020. It is part of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area.
Port Fourchon is Louisiana’s southernmost port, located on the southern tip of Lafourche Parish, on the Gulf of Mexico. It is a seaport, with significant petroleum industry traffic from offshore Gulf oil platforms and drilling rigs as well as the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port pipeline. Fourchon's primary service markets are domestic deepwater oil and gas exploration, drilling, and production in the Gulf. Port Fourchon currently services over 90% of the Gulf of Mexico's deepwater oil production. There are over 600 oil platforms within a 40-mile radius of Port Fourchon. This area furnishes 16 to 18 percent of the US oil supply.
Bayou Lafourche, originally called Chetimachas River or La Fourche des Chetimaches,, is a 106-mile-long (171 km) bayou in southeastern Louisiana, United States, that flows into the Gulf of Mexico. The bayou is flanked by Louisiana Highway 1 on the west and Louisiana Highway 308 on the east, and is known as "the longest Main Street in the world." It flows through parts of Ascension, Assumption, and Lafourche parishes. Today, approximately 300,000 Louisiana residents drink water drawn from the bayou.
Louisiana Highway 1 (LA 1) is a state highway in Louisiana. At 431.88 miles (695.04 km), it is the longest numbered highway of any class in Louisiana. It runs diagonally across the state, connecting the oil and gas fields near the island of Grand Isle with the northwest corner of the state, north of Shreveport.
Louisiana Highway 24 (LA 24) is a state highway located in southeastern Louisiana. It runs 35.65 miles (57.37 km) in a general east–west direction from LA 20 in Schriever to LA 3235 in Larose.
A table bridge is a moveable bridge in which the deck moves along the vertical axis. Two or four hydraulic pillars under the bridge, one or two at each end, raise the bridge deck to allow barge traffic to pass beneath it. In contrast to a lift bridge, where the deck is pulled upwards along towers, the deck of a table bridge is pushed upwards by otherwise hidden pillars. The name originates from the fact that when open it resembles a table.
Lafourche Parish Public Schools is a school district headquartered in Thibodaux, Louisiana.
Louisiana Highway 308 is a state highway in Louisiana that serves Ascension, Assumption, and Lafourche Parishes. It spans 82.5 miles (132.8 km), following the east bank of Bayou Lafourche from Donaldsonville to Golden Meadow. It parallels LA 1 during its entire route, as LA 1 follows the west bank of the bayou.
Delta Farms is an area in Lafourche Parish, just north of Larose. It was originally a swamp area that was surrounded by levees to create a farmland.
The Louisiana Highway 1 Bridge, also known as the Gateway to the Gulf Expressway, is a concrete trestle toll bridge in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a total length of 43,600 feet, it is one of the longest bridges in the world.
The Cote Blanche Bridge crosses Bayou Lafourche at West 79th Street in the town of Cut Off, Louisiana.
The South Lafourche Bridge crosses Bayou Lafourche at Louisiana Highway 3162 and East 90th Street in the town of Galliano, Louisiana. Built in 1972, this vertical-lift bridge has a total length of 253.8 feet with its largest span at 104 feet. The bridge deck is 27.8 feet wide, and there is a vertical clearance above the deck of 17.4 feet.
The Galliano Pontoon Bridge crosses Bayou Lafourche in the town of Galliano, Louisiana. Built in 1956, and rehabilitated in 2009, this pontoon swing bridge has a total length of 136.2 feet with its largest span at 71.9 feet. The bridge deck is 24.9 feet wide. The bridge was shortly closed and reopened in 2023.