DOTD: air-gap sensors being installed on six Mississippi River bridges; I‑10 relocation may finish by March

DOTD project manager Chris Collins told the Louisiana Ports and Waterways Interim Commission that the department has assumed the lead for installing PORTS (Physical Oceanographic Real Time System) air‑gap sensors and current meters on six bridges crossing the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. “PORTS is a decision support tool that improves the safety and efficiency of maritime commerce,” Collins said, describing the system’s role in providing real‑time navigation data to mariners.

Why it matters: pilots and tow operators use air‑gap and current information to calculate vessel clearance and loading; outages or incorrect readings can delay traffic and create costly interruptions. NOAA and the Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services will install and maintain much of the measurement equipment, DOTD said.

Collins said the program has a memorandum of understanding in place and that DOTD used drone video reconnaissance to speed site assessments. He said the first site (Project 1, the I‑10 bridge over the Mississippi) has the most advanced progress but required rework after NOAA re‑evaluated earlier assumptions. “For location number 1, we should get word soon that we may or may not have to build an additional structure,” Collins said; if no additional platform is needed, he said, installation could be nearly complete.

NOAA engineer Mary Anne Wesley confirmed the project’s public‑data design and explained how PORTS data are disseminated: “The data is completely public,” she said, noting NOAA transmits data by satellite to Amazon Web Services and through application programming interfaces used by pilot units and navigation tools. Wesley said NOAA recommends dual, redundant sensors on bridges so a single failure does not create an outage.

Timelines and risks: DOTD staff and a federal installation team still must complete site visits and produce detailed installation plans. Collins told commissioners that if new platforms must be designed and bid, a single bridge platform procurement could add “4 to 6 months” to the schedule; Big River Coalition representative Sean Duffy said the group is aiming for installations of all air‑gap sensors “by the end of 2026,” but emphasized that the I‑10 relocation could be done sooner if reinstallation of existing sensors is possible. Commissioners pressed for a firm deadline; DOTD agreed to provide a status update to the commission within two weeks after the scheduled site visits and to report a timeline for each bridge.

What remains unresolved: inventory of spare sensors and procurement timing for three planned current meters (including a buoy for Southwest Pass) were discussed but not finalized. DOTD emphasized that although it is leading and funding reconnaissance, the federal partners perform installation work and schedule, so some variables remain dependent on their availability.

Ending: Commissioners requested regular updates after the site visits and asked DOTD and NOAA to provide specific timelines and any items that would require additional state action or contracting.