Black Bayou Bridge and Calcasieu Lock near Lake Charles, LA

Bridge: (Satellite)

Lock: (Satellite)

The bridge is a swinging pontoon bridge. A street view shows that it has a floating dock at both sides of the navigation channel. So the span must be a floating pontoon bridge.

Street View, Apr 2014

Given that the control tower is north of the floating span, this photo shows that the span swings into the northeast quadrant.

Capt. Hayes, Jan 2018

This satellite image shows the notch into which the span swings and the control arm that swings the span.

Satellite

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Charles Reeser, May 2018

Street View, Apr 2014

I wonder how often the lock is used because this satellite image shows that the sector gates are open on both ends of the lock.

Satellite

I noticed the lock wasn't being used when I tried to figure out which direction the Intracoastal Waterway flows here to see if I should label the Grand Lake Swing Bridge as upstream or downstream from the Black Bayou Bridge. Even though the sector gates are open, we can tell that this other pontoon bridge is downstream from the Black Bayou Bridge.

Jul 14, 2026:

USACE, New Orleans District posted

Personnel with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintenance unit drive pilings for a new guide wall being constructed for the Calcasieu Lock, which is operated and maintained by the USACE New Orleans District. The original guide wall was built in 1950 and later replaced in 1984 by a timber guide wall, which is now being replaced by one made of a fiber-reinforced polymer (more commonly known as “fiber glass”).

The Calcasieu Lock is located on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW), just east of the Calcasieu River, in Cameron Parish, La., approximately 10 miles south of Lake Charles. It is the second busiest lock in the nation and serves as a vital component for maritime navigation along the GIWW.

(Courtesy photo by Candace Hood)

This photo has been moved to the correct bridge.