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Fixing the Baton Rouge I-10 Bottleneck: Take #3,970

Started by Anthony_JK, November 11, 2011, 11:31:51 AM

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Urban Prairie Schooner

Quote from: RPParish on August 06, 2012, 01:57:29 PM
Quote from: Anthony_JK on July 26, 2012, 07:46:15 PM
Quote from: RPParish on July 24, 2012, 11:19:31 AM
I would love to know what the price would be to buy up all the land between College Dr to the Mississippi Bridge. If done right, I-10 and I-110 should be Texas style interstates. I-110 should be at grade to the Governor's Mansion curve. This could be the biggest project in DOTD history.

Right...let's sever all those major streets serving downtown BTR. Great idea...NOT.

Also, I-110 is already a "Texas-style" Interstate along the CBD, with 9th and 10th Streets serving as access roads.Those left exits are really there to serve traffic coming off of I-10 from the west.

Now, I wouldn't mind getting rid of the depressed segment from the Governor's Mansion curve to Plank Rd/Scenic Highway, and making it more of an elevated highway...that would make it more consistent.

I-10 wise, overpasses can be used to connect South BR to Perkins Rd/ Garden District area. I'd say one by Terrace Ave and Washington St. I would think you would have to start elevating somewhere at the start of the I-10 and 110 split so South Br and downtown streets wont be affected.

110 wise, I mean a Texas style with a continuous service road. One where is main purpose is take some traffic off the interstate and puts you on and off the freeway. 9th and 10th st seems like street that just so happen run along an interstate.

I know this will be expensive since we are talking about relocating people but I dont see it being solved without it or a double decker freeway.

The best hope is really to add elevated lanes (two elevated viaducts, two lanes each way) for through "express" traffic along the shoulders of I-10 at least between I-110 and I-12, similar to the express lanes on I-35 in Austin. What a cluster**** that would be but it would require the least ROW takings and would solve the "through traffic" problem in lieu of a loop that everybody seems to want until it goes through their neighborhood.

Of course an "express route" (limited ROW, few interchanges) bypass intended largely for freight traffic would be the optimal solution.


RPParish

How many lanes should do you think the I-10 should be?

Call me crazy but I think from the I-10/I-12 split to the I-10/I-110 split should be 6 or 7 lanes including service roads. I know the space there isnt feasible for an interstate that size but in a perfect world, this is what I think is needed. Especially since Baton Rouge Metro will be the states largest area by 2040. Lets at least plan ahead since the writing of the wall is clear.

mcdonaat

I think it should stay six lanes, with elevated HOV lanes using the 110 corridor from Airline to 10, splitting at 12, with 12's HOV lanes lasting until Range, and 10's HOV lasting until Highland. Exits would be for Capitol Access, Florida, Perkins (EB exit, WB entrance), College (WB exit, EB entrance), 12, Bluebonnet, Siegen, and Pecue (for hospital access). 12's would be Essen, Airline, O'Neal, and Range. At-grade HOV would last from Range to I-55.

Give your high-occupancy vehicles like church buses, station wagons full of screaming kids, and school buses a really nice alternative to the congestion below, and you'll see a huge reduction in delays. Also, upgrade Airline Highway with frontage roads, and a huge problem is fixed. It's not the bottleneck that's the problem, just the viable alternatives for traffic. Widening isn't an option in many spots, because rubberneckers cause the largest problem. You already have a loop, consisting of Burbank, Nicholson, 110, and Airline. Extend Burbank to meet 10 and Airline near Prairieville, and a true loop appears. Doesn't need to be 60MPH (city Interstate speed limit) when Burbank is 65MPH in some spots.

UptownRoadGeek

Quote from: RPParish on August 07, 2012, 03:52:58 PM
.....Baton Rouge Metro will be the states largest area by 2040. Lets at least plan ahead since the writing of the wall is clear.

Really?

Hot Rod Hootenanny

Quote from: UptownRoadGeek on August 08, 2012, 02:34:59 PM
Quote from: RPParish on August 07, 2012, 03:52:58 PM
.....Baton Rouge Metro will be the states largest area by 2040. Lets at least plan ahead since the writing of the wall is clear.

Really?
As compared to Kenner?
Please, don't sue Alex & Andy over what I wrote above

RPParish

Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on August 08, 2012, 11:19:49 PM
Quote from: UptownRoadGeek on August 08, 2012, 02:34:59 PM
Quote from: RPParish on August 07, 2012, 03:52:58 PM
.....Baton Rouge Metro will be the states largest area by 2040. Lets at least plan ahead since the writing of the wall is clear.

Really?
As compared to Kenner?

You guys think otherwise?

mcdonaat

Driving I-10 on a daily basis, I have come to the conclusion that I-12 is the problem. It was widened first, it carries more daily traffic, and it gets more lanes at the 10/12 split. Other than the obvious dangerous curve at 10/110 and the exit-only lane, the best fix would be to create I-410 from just west of LA 415 south over the river near Farr Park, then southeast between Burbank and Nicholson to hook with I-10 between Highland and the Geismar exit. Look at a loop like this... if there was a loop that turned a 14-mile trip into an 80-mile trip, would YOU take it? The DOTD needs to act quickly, and buy the land while it's cheap. In exchange, decommission Siegen Lane, LA 928, and LA 405 in exchange for mileage. Smaller state routes could be chopped.

Any ideas? It's a southern bypass of I-10, even good enough for moving the I-10 corridor onto that stretch (think, an eight-lane highway with HOV lanes from scratch), extending I-12 to where 10 would turn south, and send 110 east along the current 10 to meet it near Geismar.



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