The dream becomes reality

The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is the longest over-water highway bridge in the world. It was not until the ’50s that pre-stressed concrete technology made the creation of the first span feasible. Built in sections at a 40-acre site on the lakefront in Mandeville during 1955-56, the materials were barged to the construction as it inched across the lake.

Modular components were created for each pile, pile cap, and beam and slab. Thousands of pre-cast sections were secured for every segment of the magnificent structure, which was the engineering marvel of its day. The incredible technological feat was completed in only 14 months, at a cost of $30,677,000. Opening on August 30, 1956, it was met with great fanfare and wonder; the original toll was $1.00 each way.

The Causeway’s overwhelming success quickly gave rise to the second span, begun in 1967 and opened in May 1969. Improvements included 84-foot spans with three pilings, compared to 56-foot spans with two pilings on the original span. The cost? $29,887,175. It took longer to build than the first span, partly because new, elevated marine spans were built on both sides.

Today, more than 33,000 vehicles traverse the bridge on any weekday.

“No Tolls This Side”

In May 1999, in order to minimize the time required to move through the toll plazas, tolls were eliminated at the Causeway’s southshore entrance and the northshore personnel began collecting round-trip fares. Because safety was a paramount concern, however, attendants continued to staff the southshore toll booths at certain times to monitor drivers and vehicles entering the bridge.

As those of us who drove the bridge at that time know all-too-well, the change produced a certain amount of confusion! One of our out-of-town visitors rented a car at the airport, drove up to an empty booth, and noticed the sign, “No Tolls This Side.” She saw an attendant in the tollbooth next to her lane, however, and, being a law-abiding citizen, she backed out of the lane and pulled into the booth on the other side, wreaking havoc during rush hour traffic. The frazzled booth attendant frantically waved her on, shouting “No toll, lady—no toll!” When she arrived at our home on the northshore, she delighted in recounting the enjoyment of her toll-free ride across the Causeway.

General Manager Robert Lambert

Causeway General Manager Robert Lambert lives and breathes the Causeway. “I’m amazed when I think about the men and women in the 1950s, standing on the banks of the world’s largest freshwater estuary—Lake Pontchartrain—and planning the construction of the world’s longest bridge across it.

“When you’re in the mid-section of the bridge, it’s like you’re in the middle of the ocean, with no land in sight. And I’m convinced we enjoy the most beautiful sunsets in the world from the Causeway.”

Lambert was one of the five original Causeway police in 1970 when they took over patrolling from state troopers. Other members of that original patrol were Jerry Wittington, Stanley Pichon, Will Griffin and John Warner.

Safety is Lambert’s primary focus as general manager. “From 1987 through 1991, we were so very proud of our record of no fatalities. Then, from 1999 to 2000, there were five. Since then, we’ve only had one death—only one in five years. But, of course, even one fatality is one too many. Tailgating is the major cause of accidents on the bridge—always has been.”

With 102 call boxes and today’s cell phones, instant emergency reporting helps make the Causeway safer. Drivers are told on reader boards to call *CP to report any hazardous conditions. Over the water, the Causeway now has state-of-the-art radar that can not only spot boat and barge traffic, but it’s now sophisticated enough to even identify swimmers! Video monitoring systems are as high tech as you can get, with no major spot unseen, 24/7.

Lambert says that shell-dredging barges slammed into the Causeway 16 times during their heyday, knocking whole sections of the bridge into the lake. In 1974, Lambert himself was headed northbound at the eight-mile bridge and almost plummeted into the lake because of a barge-bridge collision. He was in his vehicle behind two other cars that weren’t as fortunate. “The good Lord was riding with me, I guess, ’cause I slowed down at the bridge and stopped just in time. The other vehicles were fifty feet below me in the water.”

A number of animals have been rescued on the bridge—even loose horses! Lambert recalls an owl rescue, and an alligator that once wandered onto the Causeway from the pond on the east side of the northshore entrance. “I personally adopted an abandoned cat in the ’70s, a Siberian husky in the ’80s, and another husky in the ’90s; about a year and a half ago I adopted a kitten that was injured when someone threw it out of a car—we had it treated and it joined my Causeway pet menagerie at home.

“I guess the weirdest thing that’s ever happened here was when a woman calling herself ‘Pandora’ claimed that her boyfriend jumped into the lake at a crossover. I got a call from someone identifying himself as the boyfriend who said he was writing a book inspired by John Kennedy O’Toole’s “Confederacy of Dunces.” O’Toole committed suicide, and his book sales skyrocketed, so this wacko wanted to fake doing the same,” says Lambert.

He scowls. “Then he really got my goat when he said I could call off the ‘idiot paramilitary helicopter and rescue personnel.’ I said, ‘You mean the people who are trying to save you?’ I told him I couldn’t do that based on just an anonymous phone call. He wanted publicity. I asked if he minded that I tape our conversation, and promised to give it to the press. He got all excited, even though I added that it might be used against him in a court of law. Amazingly, he agreed!”

Because of the tape, the phony jumper was found guilty and fined $15,000 for the rescue operation expenses—and he had the audacity to ask Lambert for a job with the Causeway to earn the money to pay his fine! “He also offered me an autographed copy of his book. I said I didn’t want his book, would never read his book, and never wanted to see him again, either. That had to be the weirdest incident I’ve ever known on the bridge.”

Will Griffin recalls

Will Griffin joined the Causeway staff in 1970 as one of the original five police officers. He moved up the ladder to Lieutenant in 1982, Captain in ’83, and was promoted to Assistant General Manager in 1984. He served in that capacity until his retirement in the year 2000.

“When I first came on board in 1970, I remember there was only one patrolman for the entire bridge on the midnight shift, which ran from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. There was hardly any traffic then, and the lone cop was responsible for the entire two spans. This was before much development around the southshore tollbooth. I don’t even think the Time Saver was built at West Esplanade yet. Our biggest problem was keeping cows off the levee, because they would come onto the bridge and wreak havoc with traffic.”

Will remembers an incident on the bridge when he was on patrol that’s really one for the books. “We noticed a small plane circling the bridge, and it looked like it was in trouble. The engine was sputtering, and we knew he was out of gas. We stopped traffic as he landed on the bridge safely, and had the plane towed off with its wings clipped to get it off the bridge.

“Another experience I’ll never forget was when Stanley Pichon and I were working the 2-to-10 shift one evening. A man and his wife, with a bunch of their kids in an old beat-up station wagon, were headed from Bogalusa to Charity Hospital, where the lady was going to have a baby. The car overheated and pulled over, and when we saw she was in labor, we delivered the baby—a healthy boy the mother named … ‘Causeway.’

“One winter there was a rare freeze and snowstorm for several days. At the Mandeville tollbooth, we noticed a flock of birds that had fallen to the ground, frozen. We picked them up, put them in a box in the northshore office and forgot about them. The weather warmed up, and when we came back to work and opened the office, there were about 25-30 birds flyin’ and poopin’ all over the place. We cleaned up the mess, freed the birds and learned another lesson: always expect the unexpected.

“On the southshore, a husband and wife pulled up to the toll plaza, and the husband, who had been beating his wife, finally got his comeuppance. She pulled out a pistol; he ran out of the car toward the Causeway office, and she fired shots that are still evident on the building today. The toll taker hit the ground, but no one was hurt.” Remember—expect the unexpected.

Hey, Hap!

There is in our world a generous, kind, jolly gent who is probably the most famous Causeway toll taker of all time. Hap Otillio retired as Captain in the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Department, but he wanted to keep working and serving the public. He served as a toll taker from 1989 to 1995. Hap lo-o-o-o-o-ves people, and spreads joy with every encounter. Instead of just taking your money or punching your ticket with a howdaydo or a haveaniceday, he’d smile and tell you a joke, or remind you that somebody special was having a birthday soon (pretty universal, if you think about it). He’d also do brief reminders about Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and other special events. Folks would stack up five or six cars at time to pay him when empty toll lanes were clearly available. He had a lollipop for the kids “with a safety stem, of course,” and an occasional prayer card and some kind words for adults he thought looked a little troubled. Politically incorrect? You betcha.

Christmastime was Hap’s special time. The consummate toll taker would become Santa hisself in a grand costume, complete with trinkets for the kids and the best of Christmas spirit for the commuting adults. Hap’s been Santa for the past 50 years for private parties, and I defy anyone to tell me he’s not the real deal. Notice I didn’t say he plays Santa. I’m convinced he is Santa, and we sure miss him on the Causeway.

Purple martins

Let’s not forget the thousands of purple martins that make the bridge their annual home on their migration route. The Causeway is, in fact, the world’s largest purple martin roost. A popular myth is that they consume thousands of mosquitoes every day. The reality is they do eat insects, but only about two to three percent of their feeding is mosquitoes. Actually, the favorite food of the bird is the dragonfly—or mosquito hawk, as we like to call ’em—so they really eat the mosquito’s prime predator! But their beauty and enjoyable songs make them a local treasure on their visits here as they go to and from Brazil and Canada. The Causeway’s efforts to protect the birds are evident in the fences erected on both sides of the spans to stop them from becoming windshield road kill.

The purple martins are just another reason our bridge is unique in all the world. Another reason we’re kinda’ special.

Dear readers: We are working on an article about Lake Pontchartrain. If you have any interesting stories and/or photos to share, please send them to webbwilliams@insidenorthside.com. Thanks!