🔍 Key Concepts

• Bridge clearances on the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge are normally found in published references (e.g., river charts, Coast Pilot, or bridge tables). • The question is asking specifically for horizontal clearance of the channel span, not vertical clearance or the whole bridge width. • For exam questions like this, the correct value usually comes from a standard reference table entry for that exact bridge at that exact river mile (AHP = Above Head of Passes).

💭 Think About

• First, be sure you understand the difference between horizontal and vertical clearance, and which one the question is asking for. • Think about how the main navigational channel span of a bridge is described in official publications—what information is listed and how is it labeled? • Ask yourself: on the Mississippi at Baton Rouge, would the main channel span be a very narrow opening, a moderate opening, or a very wide opening, considering the size of commercial traffic there?

✅ Before You Answer

• Confirm in your mind that horizontal clearance means the clear distance between the bridge piers that bound the navigable span, measured in feet. • Mentally picture the scale of a typical main channel span used by large tows and deep-draft vessels; eliminate any option that seems clearly too small for safe passage. • Remember that exam questions like this are usually pulled directly from a published bridge clearance table—the number should look like a realistic span width, not a total bridge length.