The Canal Boulevard Bridge over Bayou Lafourche opened in 1966 and has been carrying traffic for about 60 years. In the city's traffic model, using 2022 as the base year, it carried around 20,873 vehicles a day. That is more than any other crossing in town. On Jan. 4, 2027, the first Monday of the new year, the bridge closes to all traffic. The City of Thibodaux plans to reopen it June 30, 2027.
The model predicts where those cars will go, and most of them land on one street. Starting in January, the Jackson Street Bridge becomes the town's main way across the bayou, carrying nearly as many cars as Canal Boulevard does today.
Jackson Street Picks Up Most of the Traffic
The city's analysis used the Houma-Thibodaux Metropolitan Planning Organization Travel Demand Model. It looked at four other bridges that would pick up traffic when Canal Boulevard closes. Here is how daily traffic on each one compares, 2022 base versus full closure:
- Jackson Street: about 5,907 vehicles a day, rising to around 18,560
- Percy Brown Road: 6,907, rising to 8,619
- Tiger Drive: 6,997, rising to 7,853
- Audubon Avenue: 2,745, rising to 5,143
The model's totals show how lopsided the shift is. Together, the four remaining bridges gain about 17,600 trips a day. Jackson Street takes about 12,650 of them, roughly seven out of every ten. Tiger Drive, already one of the busier crossings, gains fewer than 900 trips a day. Audubon Avenue nearly doubles, but from a small starting point. Jackson Street roughly triples and ends up carrying close to 90% of what Canal Boulevard carried in the 2022 model.
Even that heavier load leaves the four bridges carrying about 40,200 trips a day. All five crossings together carried about 43,400 in the 2022 base condition. So the model has a few thousand daily trips disappearing from the bayou crossings altogether. Some people will combine errands, drive a different way or skip a trip.
The city is clear that this is a rough, planning-stage estimate. The analysis calls itself "high-level" and says its numbers "should not be interpreted as precise traffic or delay predictions." It also says detailed traffic counts and signal plans would require a more complete study. Read the figures as which way traffic will shift and roughly how much, not as a forecast for any particular morning.
Why the City Chose Six Hard Months Over Fourteen Easier Ones
The city could have kept one lane open in each direction. In that scenario, the model drops Canal Boulevard to about 15,413 vehicles a day, and Jackson Street rises only to 8,436 instead of 18,560. Each day would be easier. But that version would take far longer.
| Approach | Estimated duration | Estimated cost | Added hours of traffic delay, whole project |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full closure | About 6 months | About $9 million | About 6,329 |
| One lane open each direction | About 14 months | About $13 million | About 14,904 |
Under the full closure, each day on the other bridges is worse. Added up over the whole project, though, the city's presentation estimates less than half the total delay. The full closure also keeps traffic away from active construction and pile driving, and it lets crews build the bridge, box culvert and bulkhead at the same time.
The schedule has some built-in pressure. Crews are set to work around the clock, six days a week, with Sundays held for makeup work. The construction contract charges the contractor a penalty for each day the job runs past its schedule, weather permitting. The City Council approved the cooperative endeavor agreement 4-1 at its Sept. 1 meeting, with Councilman Ben Harang casting the only "nay" vote.
Where Officers and Turn Limits Will Be
If Jackson Street is taking most of the traffic, the traffic management plan is built to keep it moving. The city's Sept. 23 public meeting presentation lists these measures:
- Police officers will direct traffic at the LA 308 and LA 1 Canal intersection, at Jackson Street and at Audubon Avenue during three peak windows: 6 to 9 a.m., 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and 3 to 6 p.m.
- Left turns from St. Patrick Street onto Hwy 308 will be prohibited. The goal is to send that traffic to the Jackson Street Bridge so it doesn't back up on St. Patrick Street.
- Signal timing will be adjusted at both Canal Boulevard intersections. The city is working with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development on other intersections as needed.
- LA-20 and truck traffic will keep using the same signed route they use now.
- The city has coordinated with EMS and fire departments, and it plans to watch traffic and make changes during construction.
Officers will be at Audubon Avenue, too, and that fits the model. It is the crossing that nearly doubles. The St. Patrick Street turn limit also fits, because it pushes traffic toward Jackson Street. All of these measures assume Jackson Street will take most of the load.
What the Plan Doesn't Cover Yet
As of early October 2026, a few things are still unclear. The city's materials show the crossings and the traffic controls, but they don't include a street-by-street detour map. The presentation describes an 8-foot pedestrian crossing on the new southbound bridge. It does not say whether there will be any temporary way for people on foot or on bikes to cross the bayou while the bridge is closed. We also found no published plans covering access for Nicholls State University traffic or for businesses along Canal Boulevard.
The best place to watch for updates is the city's Canal Blvd. Bridge Replacement Project page. It links to the traffic analysis and the project diagrams, and it tells residents to "check back often." The Lafourche Gazette's report on the Sept. 23 town hall at Harang Auditorium is the fullest public summary so far.
What Thibodaux Gets in Return
The current bridge is in rough shape. The city's inspection findings include deteriorating deck slabs with exposed reinforcing steel, aging timber piles, erosion, and serious decay in the south-bank timber bulkhead. The bridge has a posted weight limit, and fire trucks are not allowed to cross it.
The replacement has new prestressed concrete piles and concrete bridge barriers. It also has wider center spans with more vertical clearance, rising from 19 feet to 23 feet for boats and maintenance access. On the road, southbound drivers get a new left-turn lane onto Louisiana Highway 1. There will also be a wider pedestrian crossing and decorative lighting along the bridge and its approaches. Below the road deck, crews will replace the south-bank bulkhead, build a new north-bank wall, extend the box culvert and install an electrically operated sluice gate.
The project has been coming for years. The bridge went on the state's needing-repair list in 2017, and early planning and design started in 2020. The city secured a $6 million state appropriation and signed a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the Office of Louisiana Highway Construction. Duplantis Design Group is the engineer of record. Thibodaux-based Sealevel Construction is the general contractor. The town-hall presentation lists Mayor Kevin Clement and Archie Chaisson III, executive director of the Office of Louisiana Highway Construction.
The Last Holiday Season on the Old Bridge
December still runs on the usual routes. Christmas in the Park lights up Peltier Park every night from Dec. 1 through Dec. 31, 6 to 9 p.m. The Thibodaux Christmas Parade starts at 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 6. Christmas in the Park ends Dec. 31, and four days later, on Jan. 4, Jackson Street starts carrying most of the bayou traffic.
If you're wondering how the closure might affect a home on either side of the bayou, or a move you're planning for the first half of 2027, the team at Good Earth Realty Houma knows these streets and is glad to talk it through with you.
