The electrical-distribution system on the 24-mile (39-km) long Lake Pontchartrain Bridge in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., underwent a renovation, which included a fully integrated distribution-automation (DA) control and SF₆ switching solution performed for the Greater New Orleans Expressway Commission. The original electrical-distribution system consisted of a 4-kV feeder from the north shore, supplied by CLECO Power, and a 4-kV feeder from the south shore, supplied by Entergy.

The open point between the two feeders was at the 16-mile (27-km) point near a drawbridge.

Gulf Engineers & Consultants (Baton Rouge, Louisian) believe this is a unique DA project. The project scope consists of replacing all high-voltage cables, increasing the voltage level to 24.9 kV, providing a tie point between the two feeders, and fully automating fault isolation and restoration.

Load increases from cellular communications towers were causing 40% voltage drops, with aging aerial cable resulting in increased faults. Reliability requirements for this hurricane evacuation route dictated a comprehensive upgrade project.

The new electric-distribution system consists of two 24.9-kV feeders. Because the local utilities have different distribution-voltage standards, this voltage level is being provided via step-up transformers. At each shore, an SF₆ Pufferpak^® Loadbreak Switch with Resettable Vacuum Fault Interrupter, provided by Canada Power Products Corp. (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada), has been installed to provide fault isolation and sectionalizing between the utilities and the bridge.

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories' SEL-351-S relays have been integrated with controls from Survalent Technology to provide an automated restoration algorithm over a fiber-optic communications backbone along the bridge.

Canada Power Products' turnkey solution included switchgear, switch-gear controllers, protective relays, SCADA master station, automated restoration software, relay settings and integration services.
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