Cranking Open The Bayou Liberty Bridge

Letting boats past the La. 433 Bridge on Bayou Liberty took some effort back in the days before the new bridge was built. First, the bridgetender had to lower the crossing guard barriers by hand, then go out into the middle of the bridge and push a big crank around until the bridge swung open enough for the boats to get by. Then reverse the whole process to close the bridge, making sure to push the crossing gates back to the up position. 

Click on the images to make them larger. These photos are from the early 1970's.

Another picture of the Bayou Liberty bridge is located at
http://tammanyfamily.blogspot.com/2016/06/bayou-liberty-bridge-near-slidell.html