Multiple car crashes close 24-mile-long bridge outside of New Orleans after sudden fog

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Several people were injured Tuesday morning after foggy conditions contributed to several car crashes that forced the closure of the 24-mile-long (38.6-kilometer-long) bridge connecting the north and south shores of southeast Louisiana’s Lake Pontchartrain.

Carlton Dufrechou, the general manager of the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, said there were six crashes — two on the southbound span and four on the northbound span. Local news outlets reported that at least 11 people were transported to area hospitals.

“Fog was definitely a factor but from what I’m hearing it was not the (only) factor,” he said. “There was some haze on the bridge but the fog developed all of a sudden. We look at accidents all the time on this bridge and 60% to 70% of those wrecks are due to inattentive driving, either texting or answering a phone or looking down and not looking at the road.”

Dufrechou said he didn’t know the exact number of vehicles involved in the crashes or the total number of injuries.

The causeway, connecting the New Orleans metro area on the south shore to suburban communities on the north shore, was closed around 8:30 a.m. It was expected to remain closed well into the afternoon as authorities worked to clear damaged vehicles from the two parallel spans.

Tuesday’s crashes were reminiscent of a deadly accident on Interstate 55 on Oct. 23, 2023, near New Orleans. Seven motorists died and about two dozen were injured in pileups involving about 160 vehicles amid a super fog, which is created by smoke from marsh fires mixing with dense fog.