In July 1911, the Police Jury, led by President Pierre Emmanuel Prud'homme, voted to construct a bridge over Cane River near Bermuda. The site and plans required approval by the U.S. War Department, which had already provided specifications, and the Police Jury allocated $1250 for the project. Austin Brothers construction company completed the bridge on March 7, 1912. Built of steel, concrete, and wooden decking, it is 288 feet long, seventeen feet wide, and consists of three 98-foot Pratt trusses, a design by engineers Thomas and Caleb Pratt that spanned great distances using simple construction methods. The bridge arrived in pieces, and after the pylons were completed, the construction crew erected trusses to support the deck. Bermuda Bridge remains a rare existing example of a triple Pratt truss with pinned primary connections. Construction of the bridge allowed the Prud'homme family to drive across the river and increased the number of people visiting the store and post office at Oakland Plantation. A remembered worker said the construction crew included Ed, Winn, Jim, Bigman, Frank Helaire, Felix Helaire, and George Helaire, and that all-black crews built the bridge.