Editing Alexandria, Louisiana (section)

=== Bridges ===
Three road bridges cross the Red River in the Alexandria area. They are:
*The Purple Heart Memorial Bridge. Part of the Alexandria-Pineville Expressway (also referred to as the Cottingham Expressway), it connects [[Interstate 49]] to Highway 167 by crossing the Red River from downtown Alexandria to [[Pineville, Louisiana|Pineville]]. It replaced the Fulton Street Bridge and has six lanes of traffic. Designed by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD), the bridge cost $15.9 million in federal and state funds. The northbound portion was completed in 1995, the southbound in 1998.

[[File:Jackson St. bridge.JPG|thumb|200px|Jackson Street Bridge]]
*The U.S. 165 Business Bridge (alternatively, the Gillis Long Bridge, the Red River Bridge or the Jackson Street Bridge) connecting downtown Pineville with the business district in Alexandria. It is a two-lane vertical-lift bridge with a sidewalk/bikepath on either side. The bridge is named after U.S. Representative Gillis Long, who represented Louisiana's Eighth Congressional District. It was built in 1985 to replace the Murray Street Bridge.
*The Curtis-Coleman (Fort Buhlow) Bridge A new four-lane (two lanes in each direction) bridge was built beside the aging OK Allen Bridge and opened in May, 2016. At that time [[US 165]] will be completely four-laned for most of its traverse of Louisiana. It was demolished on September 26, 2015.

Former bridges include:
*The Murray Street Bridge. One of the first bridges in Alexandria. A two-lane steel truss swing bridge, it decayed over time, finally being demolished in 1983. The approach on the Alexandria side was turned into a river overlook as part of the Alexandria Levee Park.
*The Fulton Street Bridge. Named after Fulton Street which it connected with Highway 167. Technically part of the Alexandria-Pineville Expressway, it was a four-lane steel vertical-lift bridge. It was demolished in 1994 to make way for the Purple Heart Memorial Bridge.
*The Oscar K. Allen Bridge connected Highway 165/71 on both sides of the Red River. It was a two-lane K-truss type bridge, named after Governor [[Oscar K. Allen]]. It was built in 1936 to connect Alexandria to the (former) Fort Buhlow. It was replaced by the Curtis-Coleman (Fort Buhlow) Bridge next to it.

There are two railroad bridges over the Red River in Alexandria. One is located near the Buhlow area north of the OK Allen bridge. The other is south of the Purple Heart Memorial Bridge.