Journal Services Staff Writer

Nothing says Louisiana like tourism in New Orleans, which spreads the state’s brand across the world.

And an Interstate-10 interchange to a new terminal of Louis Armstrong International Airport is about as big as it gets when it comes road and highway construction in the state.

This project showcases the trust that Gilchrist Construction Company of Alexandria has built across the state since its founding in 1981.

Randy Gilchrist started the company and remains the president today, serving in his fifth different decade.
Gilchrist Construction began in commercial site work and concrete construction like foundations, sidewalks and parking lots before moving into subdivision streets and drainage by the mid-1980s.
The company entered the Louisiana highway market by the end of that decade and is a force in the heavy highway work sector.

The I-10 interchange to Loyola Drive is a design-build project that includes two flyover ramps and widening of the Duncan Canal Bridge. The interchange is Gilchrist’s fourth design-build project, demonstrating the expertise to finish a project from conception to construction.

This project leverages Gilchrist Construction’s strengths in earthwork, drainage structures, concrete and asphalt paving.

The design-build function of highway and bridge construction allows the state to contract a single-entity without bidding to reduce construction time and often cost.

Just the bridge team alone features 80 employees with more than 380 years of combined experience.
The company has completed projects in all four corners of the state with nine different projects ongoing. This includes bridge projects in the Louisiana towns of Iowa, Starks, and the Sunshine Bridge in St. James Parish.

Gilchrist has contributed to the Geaux South project, a multi-billion, multi-year construction initiative to convert 160 miles of the U.S. 90 corridor to an interstate, making travel from Lafayette down to Houma-Thibodaux and on to New Orleans easier for residents and industry.

Now that I-49 is complete to the northern Louisiana border, improvement of U.S. 90 means the Midwest will have better highway access to major ports in the southeast Louisiana, two of which rank among the top seven U.S. ports in terms of tonnage.

The Central Louisiana location allows Gilchrist to move its people – and heavy machinery – easily around the state to meet the needs of Louisianans.