News:

Thank you for your patience during the Forum downtime while we upgraded the software. Welcome back and see this thread for some new features and other changes to the forum.

Main Menu

I49 in LA

Started by rte66man, July 14, 2010, 06:52:15 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Anthony_JK

More like Broussard.  The Kaliste Saloom Road interchange and the University Avenue/Surrey St. interchange will be the true gateway to Lafayette from the south.


Hot Rod Hootenanny

Quote from: mcdonaat on May 21, 2012, 04:59:29 PM
Fingers crossed for the state to make this an attractive intersection... It's going to be your main entrance, basically, into Lafayette.
We're talking about folks coming north from the coastal region of Louisiana (and the occasional traveler from New Orleans).
Please, don't sue Alex & Andy over what I wrote above

Grzrd

This article seems to reflect some resentment in south Louisiana about having to possibly toll I-49 South:

Quote
But state Rep. Sam Jones, D-Franklin, noted that I-49 between Shreveport and the Arkansas border was financed without any tolls.
"We have built ourselves to the cornfields or cotton fields or whatever,"  Jones said .... southbound stretches from Lafayette alone would cost from $1 billion to $1.4 billion, and cover up to 37 miles.
Gov. Bobby Jindal's office said in February that more than 100 miles of the 156-mile I-49 south corridor have been brought up to interstate standards.
State Rep. Terry Landry, D-Lafayette, a member of the committee, said he always found it perplexing that attention focused on I-49 in northwest Louisiana amid concerns about hurricane evacuations in south Louisiana.
State Rep. Terry Brown, No Party-Colfax, countered that the initial part of I-49 went from Lafayette to the St. Landry Parish town of Washington – south to north – and that some of the work on I-49 in north Louisiana stemmed from federal highway decisions.
Adley, responding to Jones, said it made no sense to impose tolls when I-49 was being built in north Louisiana.
"There was no road, nothing to toll,"  Adley said.
The I-49 south project is largely an effort to upgrade U.S. 90.
"There is a route in place that you can actually gain some additional dollars if you want to,"  Adley said. "You may not want to."

I don't think the money fairy will build the remainder of I-49 South.  :no:



ShawnP

My worries are that a Katrina will hit Acadia and folks will get stuck on I-49/US-90 in backups. My feelings are that if the United States wants to keep New Orleans as a major metro area. We as a country have to ensure their is another route of evacuation. To me that includes a full blown I-49 and yes a full blown 3 digit bypass of Lafayette with 4 lanes and from the ground up contraflow plans and construction.

Anthony_JK

Ahhh...ACADIANA, not Acadia. Acadia is a parish located within Acadiana.

If we do get a full-blown Katrina headed our way, there will be tie-ups regardless.


Anthony

Anthony_JK

Quote from: Grzrd on May 22, 2012, 07:42:27 AM
This article seems to reflect some resentment in south Louisiana about having to possibly toll I-49 South:

Quote
But state Rep. Sam Jones, D-Franklin, noted that I-49 between Shreveport and the Arkansas border was financed without any tolls.
"We have built ourselves to the cornfields or cotton fields or whatever,"  Jones said .... southbound stretches from Lafayette alone would cost from $1 billion to $1.4 billion, and cover up to 37 miles.
Gov. Bobby Jindal's office said in February that more than 100 miles of the 156-mile I-49 south corridor have been brought up to interstate standards.
State Rep. Terry Landry, D-Lafayette, a member of the committee, said he always found it perplexing that attention focused on I-49 in northwest Louisiana amid concerns about hurricane evacuations in south Louisiana.
State Rep. Terry Brown, No Party-Colfax, countered that the initial part of I-49 went from Lafayette to the St. Landry Parish town of Washington – south to north – and that some of the work on I-49 in north Louisiana stemmed from federal highway decisions.
Adley, responding to Jones, said it made no sense to impose tolls when I-49 was being built in north Louisiana.
"There was no road, nothing to toll,"  Adley said.
The I-49 south project is largely an effort to upgrade U.S. 90.
"There is a route in place that you can actually gain some additional dollars if you want to,"  Adley said. "You may not want to."

I don't think the money fairy will build the remainder of I-49 South.  :no:




Hate to say I told you so, but...

It will be a hard sell to South Louisiana lawmakers precisely because of the regional split...and the notion that I-49 North was built free but US 90 will have to be converted to toll to build I-49 South.

Perhaps, the idea of extending the TIMED tax and using that to fund I-49 South will gain some favor?


Anthony

ShawnP

Oh touchy Cajuns.....

Hot Rod Hootenanny

Quote from: Anthony_JK on May 22, 2012, 11:21:16 AM
Ahhh...ACADIANA, not Acadia. Acadia is a parish located within Acadiana.

If we do get a full-blown Katrina headed our way, there will be tie-ups regardless.


Anthony

Didn't you folks get that experience with Hurricane Andrew back in 1992?
Please, don't sue Alex & Andy over what I wrote above

Anthony_JK

Not quite...Andrew hit a tad east of where I was (near Cote Blanche Bay near Baldwin/Franklin), and moved through the Atchafalaya Basin.  Baton Rouge and points eastward got the worst of it.

But, we did get our share of tie ups on US 90, indeed...in fact, that was the motivation that spurred the state to expidite study of I-49 South to begin with.

Hopefully, we won't get another one like that to push people along.


Anthony

mcdonaat

Dunno though, it's your main shopping/medical corridor with the mall, the centers at Kaliste Saloom and Johnston, and of course the new hospital near Verot School.

texaskdog

Maybe they can just all huddle together in the Superdome :P

Anthony_JK

Quote from: mcdonaat on May 22, 2012, 11:56:03 PM
Dunno though, it's your main shopping/medical corridor with the mall, the centers at Kaliste Saloom and Johnston, and of course the new hospital near Verot School.

Johnston Street is far more important a corridor, since it connects UL-L directly with the Mall of LA and the new OLOL hospital. Ambassador Caffery Parkway is more important because it connects South Lafayette with US 90. When the northern extension of AmbCaffery from I-10 near Scott to I-49 north of Carencro is finished, then it becomes a bit more important as a quasi-"beltway"..until the actual Beltway is built.


mcdonaat

Actually.. dunno if it's "breaking" or not, but the Louisiana DOTD does not acknowledge the true creation of the I-49 corridor. Many people at the DOTD have said that the corridor should just be signed as US 90, with a giant TO NEW ORLEANS sign on I-10 at Lafayette. I'm discussing with the DOTD the possibility of creating I-6 as a number (look at US 90 on a map versus I-8 in Cali/Ariz and I-4 in Florida). The number is available, so why not use that instead of a north-south Interstate?

Also, whats the opinion of people on here when discussing hurricane evacuation? I was thinking the DOTD could sign a state highway (or create US 251) with signs saying "TO I-55/I-10" from Houma over the Gramercy Bridge, and tie in the I-55/I-10 interchange. It's an idea, and a super sensible one for evacuation. Maybe even six lanes since it's going to evacuate the entire Houma/Thibodaux area. Just my 2 cents!

UptownRoadGeek

#238
Quote from: mcdonaat on May 26, 2012, 12:58:38 AM
Also, whats the opinion of people on here when discussing hurricane evacuation? I was thinking the DOTD could sign a state highway (or create US 251) with signs saying "TO I-55/I-10" from Houma over the Gramercy Bridge, and tie in the I-55/I-10 interchange. It's an idea, and a super sensible one for evacuation. Maybe even six lanes since it's going to evacuate the entire Houma/Thibodaux area. Just my 2 cents!

Problem is traffic from the New Orleans metro alone will tie up all of I-10 and I-55. You're looking at a 5+ hour drive just to get to BR and that's with contraflow. There won't be any available space on I-10 and barely any on I-55 to squeeze in anymore traffic. Also, Mississippi usually doesn't allow traffic from Louisiana to enter along I-10 East so whatever doesn't make it up I-59 is going to catch I-12 back over to 55 and 10.

mcdonaat

Quote from: UptownRoadGeek on May 26, 2012, 02:09:10 AM
Quote from: mcdonaat on May 26, 2012, 12:58:38 AM
Also, whats the opinion of people on here when discussing hurricane evacuation? I was thinking the DOTD could sign a state highway (or create US 251) with signs saying "TO I-55/I-10" from Houma over the Gramercy Bridge, and tie in the I-55/I-10 interchange. It's an idea, and a super sensible one for evacuation. Maybe even six lanes since it's going to evacuate the entire Houma/Thibodaux area. Just my 2 cents!

Problem is traffic from the New Orleans metro alone will tie up all of I-10 and I-55. You're looking at a 5+ hour drive just to get to BR and that's with contraflow. There won't be any available space on I-10 and barely any on I-55 to squeeze in anymore traffic. Also, Mississippi usually doesn't allow traffic from Louisiana to enter along I-10 East so whatever doesn't make it up I-59 is going to catch I-12 back over to 55 and 10.
Maybe it's time to implement evacuation by parish. I-49 South is going to be sending in so much traffic from the southern parts of the state into the CCC.

Anthony_JK

Quote from: mcdonaat on May 26, 2012, 02:32:01 AM
Maybe it's time to implement evacuation by parish. I-49 South is going to be sending in so much traffic from the southern parts of the state into the CCC.

Not quite, because there's also the Hale Boggs Bridge (I-310) and, once the upgrade is completed, the Huey P. Long bridge. 

Plus, most of the population along US 90 is from Morgan City westward..US90 through Lafayette and then either I-49 north to Shreveport or I-10 west would be their preferred choice of evacuation.

And....Louisiana already has a staged system for implementing evacuation by parish, based on the intensity and timing of an approaching storm.

Anthony_JK

Quote from: ShawnP on May 22, 2012, 06:04:29 PM
Oh touchy Cajuns.....

I'm not a Cajun, but I know quite a few.

mcdonaat

If I-55 is widened to a six-lane highway, it would be a good thing. Also, you can count in the six lanes of the twin-span bridge AND widen I-10 west to six lanes. The infrastructure is there, and smaller highways will be used by the local people. I, for one, never immediately drive to an Interstate highway just because it's "faster"

austrini

I went and drove on to I-49 today. All of the bridges are covered with birds' nests, the kind of birds that build those hard nests out of mud.... with the effect that there are clouds of them that swoop down on any cars that come by. The entrance ramps are only blocked off with flimsy "road closed" signs and sandbags, if any scoundrel wanted to see if their Toyota could navigate the bird barraged interstate for a mile or two in the very early morning there would be nary a soul around to stop them.





Flickr photostream here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fatguyinalittlecoat/7281483826/in/photostream
AICP (2012), GISP (2020) | Formerly TX, now UK

Grzrd

#244
This article includes a 16 min. 24 sec. video of construction from LA 1 to the Arkansas state line, and a photo gallery with twenty photos of construction.

Quote from: Grzrd on February 02, 2012, 10:24:47 PM
Quote from: Grzrd on January 11, 2012, 09:54:08 AM
Quote from: Grzrd on December 13, 2011, 02:29:36 PM
Funding has been secured for Segments J and K, with construction on Segment J expected to begin in 2012 and Segment K in 2013:
http://www.dotd.la.gov/pressreleases/release.aspx?key=1759
These two Segments are expected to be completed in 2016.
The July 7, 2011 press release linked above states that construction on Segment J could begin as early as Summer 2012.  I communicated with LaDOTD yesterday and the current estimate is that the letting will be in Fall 2012.
This video report has Joe Umeozulu of LaDOTD stating that the letting for Segment K will be in Fall 2012, too.

Segment J is still expected to be let this Fall, but Segment K is now expected to be let in late 2013:

Quote
Segment J: The portion between Martin Luther King Boulevard and La. 1 is scheduled to be out for bids this fall and expected to cost $50 million to $70 million.
Segment K: The final section of the project from Martin Luther King Boulevard that will connect with Interstate 220 carries an estimated cost of $70 million to $100 million. The project is scheduled to go out for bids in late 2013.

Completion of I-49 North is still expected to occur in 2016:

Quote
The entire corridor is estimated to be complete by 2016, but segments A through I (from Arkansas to Louisiana Highway 1) will be open sometime next year, said Susan Stafford, public information officer for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.

ShawnP

Quote from: Anthony_JK on May 26, 2012, 10:15:52 AM
Quote from: ShawnP on May 22, 2012, 06:04:29 PM
Oh touchy Cajuns.....

I'm not a Cajun, but I know quite a few.
You can claim to be a Cajun.............works for MA Senate Candidates.

ShawnP


Gordon

LA. shows you can work on Bridges and the paving at the same time. It is a shame AR. can't do the same and finish there last 4 miles so they could both open up I49 from LA 1 to Texarkana in the spring of 2013.

Hot Rod Hootenanny

Quote from: ShawnP on May 31, 2012, 04:39:27 PM
Quote from: Anthony_JK on May 26, 2012, 10:15:52 AM
Quote from: ShawnP on May 22, 2012, 06:04:29 PM
Oh touchy Cajuns.....

I'm not a Cajun, but I know quite a few.
You can claim to be a Cajun.............works for MA Senate Candidates.
Cajuns and Cherokees are not one of the same.
Please, don't sue Alex & Andy over what I wrote above

qguy

Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on May 31, 2012, 10:22:48 PM
Quote from: ShawnP on May 31, 2012, 04:39:27 PM
Quote from: Anthony_JK on May 26, 2012, 10:15:52 AM
Quote from: ShawnP on May 22, 2012, 06:04:29 PM
Oh touchy Cajuns.....

I think he knew that and was applying the principle that the MA Senate candidate has been using. (And

I'm not a Cajun, but I know quite a few.
You can claim to be a Cajun.............works for MA Senate Candidates.
Cajuns and Cherokees are not one of the same.

I think he knows that and is applying the principle that the MA Senate candidate has been using. (But he did get more touchiness, therefore achieving a twofer.)



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.