Blake Pontchartrain: The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway has been around for nearly 70 years

Hey Blake,

While driving the Causeway across Lake Pontchartrain recently, two questions came to mind. How long did it take to build, and was it always a toll bridge? If so, how much was the first toll?

The story of the 24-mile Lake Pontchartrain Causeway’s creation begins in 1948 when the state legislature put a constitutional amendment before voters. It authorized a $30 million bond issue to finance the bridge’s construction.

“The causeway would be modeled after the famous causeways of Biscayne Bay, Fla. and the Zuider Zee, Holland,” reported a May 1948 New Orleans States article…

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