Bridge over the Calcasieu

By the dawn's early light the bridge over the Calcasieu River in Lake Charles, Louisiana, is bathed in gold in this photo from a series I took from my 3rd-floor motel room.

Now you see the bridge, which may be replaced, in the light of early afternoon.

And finally, a view at sunset.

The structure is over a mile lone and climbs until it is 90 feet above the river which flows to the Gulf and the Waterway. It's that high so ocean-going freighters and tankers can pass under it.

Now that the 57-year-old bridge needs to be replaced because of its deteriorating condition, the federal government, I am told, wants a low bridge.

But Lake Charles is pushing for a high bridge to accommodate modern ships that sail in from the Gulf or the Intracoastal Waterway.

Under debate for years the new bridge won't be built anytime soon, one local told me.

Photos by Grier Horner. All rights reserved. Click on photos to see them in a large scale foremat.