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I49 in LA

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

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silverback1065

Why does a city the size of Lafayette need I-49 AND a toll loop?  Seems like overkill to me.


the young texan

Quote from: silverback1065 on February 20, 2019, 12:18:55 PM
Why does a city the size of Lafayette need I-49 AND a toll loop?  Seems like overkill to me.

Its not a big town. They should just take the money and spend it on the I-69 project or connecting I-49 in Shreveport.

jbnv

#1327
There's no money for the Lafayette toll loop. I doubt there will ever be any state money for it, and if it ever does get funded most of that funding will come from private interests (probably for the toll revenue). Even if there were state money for it, Acadiana legislators would never allow it to be redirected to I-69.

Regarding the need for the loop: The loop will sweep across four parishes, through area that already has some degree of development and would be ready for even more development. If you're looking only at the city of Lafayette and not the surrounding area, you're missing the point.
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silverback1065

Quote from: jbnv on February 21, 2019, 10:52:13 AM
There's no money for the Lafayette toll loop. I doubt there will ever be any state money for it, and if it ever does get funded most of that funding will come from private interests (probably for the toll revenue). Even if there were state money for it, Acadiana legislators would never allow it to be redirected to I-69.

Regarding the need for the loop: The loop will sweep across four parishes, through area that already has some degree of development and would be ready for even more development. If you're looking only at the city of Lafayette and not the surrounding area, you're missing the point.

i still dont see why this needs to be limited access.  a simple divided highway would suffice.

Bobby5280

Wouldn't a toll road have to get its money from private sources anyway (through methods like bond sales)? If the road was going to be built with gas tax money it might be better to build a divided at-grade expressway Texas-style with a median big enough to hold a future freeway. Or just build a new 2-lane road with a big ROW to the side of it. Of course there's only so much gas-tax funding available. I-49 ought to be a higher priority with that money.

jbnv

Again, we're talking about money that hasn't been raised yet. If the people of Lafayette and the surrounding parishes decide to move forward with it, they will.
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Anthony_JK

Quote from: Gordon on February 19, 2019, 02:42:41 PM
https://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana/news/article_754f2f50-313b-11e9-abbf-cba22dbd3810.html                                                                     Here is an article on the Lafayette connector that expects a federal Record of Decision on the I-49 Lafayette Connector and final document by 2021.

Interesting that Claire Taylor, the author of that article, has moved over from the Daily Advertiser to the Acadiana Advocate. She has been the lead reporter for articles on the Connector project since its inception.

It would make sense to kick the dates for the Supplemental EIS and CSS studies down the road to 2021, and also stage the funding and construction. Maybe they will finally update their website to reflect the latest news?

Anthony_JK

Quote from: silverback1065 on February 20, 2019, 12:18:55 PM
Why does a city the size of Lafayette need I-49 AND a toll loop?  Seems like overkill to me.

I-49 through Lafayette is the greater need due to the congestion of the Evangeline Thruway and the need to complete the I-49 South extension; but there is a legit justification for the LRX loop, especially its western semicircle. Southern and Western Lafayette Parish and the surrounding enclaves of Vermilion and St. Martin Parishes have been undergoing some major development and growth in the past 5 years, and an LRX loop would essentially serve that growth by setting the outer boundary of greater Lafayette.

The LRX is just in its initial stage of development and study; this is only the Tier 1 EIS that establishes the general corridor. Tier 2 studies would actually set the ROW and alignment for the project, which would be plenty of time for establishing some form of funding.

Financial studies thus far have shown that tolls alone could pay for only 48% of the funding of the segment of the LRX from I-10 south to US 90/Future I-49 South/LA 182, and probably only 40% if extended north to I-49 North near Carencro. It would probably require a combination of funding sources to build out the LRX; and they would be totally independent of funding I-49.

yakra

Quote from: sparker on October 22, 2018, 01:50:50 AM
Quote from: Revive 755 on October 20, 2018, 11:45:28 PM
Quote from: Anthony_JK on October 20, 2018, 02:05:13 PM
This is what the latest plans I saw were for the I-49S/US 90/I-310 interchange complex, based on the 2014 Refinement Study that reduced down the scope and format for the project. It shows how I-310 and LA 3137 would be extended southward to connect with proposed I-49 South.


Designed by the same person who did I-24 at I-57?

I was thinking the I-86/I-390 interchange west of Bath, NY was a carbon copy of this design as well.
Or the north end of NH I-293.
"Officer, I'm always careful to drive the speed limit no matter where I am and that's what I was doin'." Said "No, you weren't," she said, "Yes, I was." He said, "Madam, I just clocked you at 22 MPH," and she said "That's the speed limit," he said "No ma'am, that's the route numbah!"  - Gary Crocker

Anthony_JK

#1334
Getting back in Louisiana and on the topic of I-49 South:

I was finally able to find a decent aerial of the newly completed US 90/LA 318 interchange west of Franklin. This courtesy of Bing Maps:



Basically, they tightened the westbound entry/exit ramps and widened the east frontage road in order to save the housing development on the northeast fringe of the former intersection. Not bad.



Also...the Public Hearing for the Tier I Draft EIS for the Lafayette Regional eXpressway loop around Lafayette Parish was held Thursday night, and was pretty much dull except for one commentator:

Quote

Michael Waldon, a Lafayette engineer, questioned the toll and traffic projection methodology. He also asked the LMEC to post more information online.

"The project looks like a wonderful substitute, to me, for the I-49 Connector – which we've been assured will never be built if there's strong local opposition. And I can assure you: There is strong local opposition," Waldon said. (source)

Waldon is one of the lead opponents of the I-49 Lafayette Connector freeway project that would complete I-49 South through the city along US 90 and the Evangeline Thruway. How he thinks the LRX, at nearly $1.8 BILLION will replace the $800 million Connector project, is a mystery only in his head.

cjk374

Quote from: Anthony_JK on March 02, 2019, 06:11:37 AM


Quote

Michael Waldon, a Lafayette engineer, questioned the toll and traffic projection methodology. He also asked the LMEC to post more information online.

"The project looks like a wonderful substitute, to me, for the I-49 Connector – which we've been assured will never be built if there's strong local opposition. And I can assure you: There is strong local opposition," Waldon said. (source)

Waldon is one of the lead opponents of the I-49 Lafayette Connector freeway project that would complete I-49 South through the city along US 90 and the Evangeline Thruway. How he thinks the LRX, at nearly $1.8 BILLION will replace the $800 million Connector project, is a mystery only in his head.

This sounds just like the "Loop it" group in Shreveport about spending billions to upgrade LA 3132 when you come out better spending millions on the new connector.  :pan: I hope wiser heads will prevail here as they did in Shreveport.
Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

Anthony_JK

Quote from: cjk374 on March 02, 2019, 06:44:35 PM
Quote from: Anthony_JK on March 02, 2019, 06:11:37 AM


Quote

Michael Waldon, a Lafayette engineer, questioned the toll and traffic projection methodology. He also asked the LMEC to post more information online.

"The project looks like a wonderful substitute, to me, for the I-49 Connector – which we've been assured will never be built if there's strong local opposition. And I can assure you: There is strong local opposition," Waldon said. (source)

Waldon is one of the lead opponents of the I-49 Lafayette Connector freeway project that would complete I-49 South through the city along US 90 and the Evangeline Thruway. How he thinks the LRX, at nearly $1.8 BILLION will replace the $800 million Connector project, is a mystery only in his head.

This sounds just like the "Loop it" group in Shreveport about spending billions to upgrade LA 3132 when you come out better spending millions on the new connector.  :pan: I hope wiser heads will prevail here as they did in Shreveport.

It's actually worse than the Loop It group in Shreveport.

At least there is LA 3132 and I-220 already existing as a bypass alternative to the ICC, although to upgrade that corridor to handle through I-49 traffic would be expensive.

The LRX, on the other hand, would cost nearly $1.8 BILLION to construct, and since tolls would only defray around 40-45% of the construction and maintenance costs, you still would have to spend nearly a billion dollars to complete a 40 mile loop that would not even come close to deferring traffic from the Evangeline Thruway/US 90 corridor. Not to mention, US 90 south of Lafayette is still planned on being upgraded to freeway standards anyway.

I'm guessing that Waldon and the Lafayette Connector opponents are still wanting to throw a Hail Mary for something like the Teche Ridge Bypass, or attempt to expedite funding for the LRX loop, so that they can kill the Connector project; but it's probably not happening.

Bobby5280

I think currently the Lafayette Connector is slowly inching toward a final, federal record of decision sometime in 2021. Ugh. Construction on the connector won't begin until then. I guess we would be looking at the 2025 time frame for the connector to be complete, if the project isn't derailed by some stupid nonsense. On the bright side other upgrade projects on US-90 farther South continue to proceed. Maybe by the time the connector is finished much of the rest of I-49 in the Lafayette area will be done as well.

Anthony_JK

Quote from: Bobby5280 on March 03, 2019, 01:40:58 PM
I think currently the Lafayette Connector is slowly inching toward a final, federal record of decision sometime in 2021. Ugh. Construction on the connector won't begin until then. I guess we would be looking at the 2025 time frame for the connector to be complete, if the project isn't derailed by some stupid nonsense. On the bright side other upgrade projects on US-90 farther South continue to proceed. Maybe by the time the connector is finished much of the rest of I-49 in the Lafayette area will be done as well.

The original contract for the Lafayette Connector, which was extended in March of last year, had pushed for a Supplemental EIS/ROD to be finalized by October of this year, but got pushed back due to issues involving merging some of the committees overseeing the design and CSS development process. There was also the need to review the potential mitigation of the ROW crossing the site of a former railyard that had to be cleaned up due to hazardous materials being processed there over the past 100 or so years (the rail yard was closed back in the 1950's). Obviously, pushing back the completion date of the CSS/Conceptual Design/SEIS process will be a bit costly, but it makes sense to do it right, especially in the wake of public opposition and the importance of this project.

2021 would actually be a pivotable year for finding funding for the project, because that would be the closest year that LADOTD can pursue some time of gas tax revenue increase or other revenue enhancements to fund the rest of I-49 South, including the Connector segment. Tolls are obviously out of the question since it would be impossible to place toll booths or even ETC towers on an urban segment, especially with the Evangeline Thruway as a "shunpike"; and the rest of the US 90 upgrade to freeway is crawling along in bits and pieces. The Albertson Parkway/St. Nazaire Road/LA 182 interchange and BNSF/UP mainline overpass upgrade is just about finished, with completion date set to later this spring (probably May).

The next improvements down the line would be constructing the interchanges with South Ambassador Caffery Parkway, LA 92/LA 92-1 (Youngsville Highway/Petroleum Parkway), and Verot School Road; adding frontage roads south of LA 182 to where the existing frontage roads begin just north of the LA 88 (Coteau Road) interchange, and possibly extending frontage roads north of Albertson Parkway to the Verot School intersection/proposed interchange. All those projects are in the environmental planning and design stages, with no money as of yet for construction....though that may change by 2021.

jbnv

Quote from: Anthony_JK on March 03, 2019, 03:43:06 PM
Tolls are obviously out of the question since it would be impossible to place toll booths or even ETC towers on an urban segment, especially with the Evangeline Thruway as a "shunpike".

Are you sure? Looks to me like it's a pretty clear choice: Pay the toll, or endure traffic-light hell.
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Anthony_JK

Quote from: jbnv on March 04, 2019, 11:11:55 AM
Quote from: Anthony_JK on March 03, 2019, 03:43:06 PM
Tolls are obviously out of the question since it would be impossible to place toll booths or even ETC towers on an urban segment, especially with the Evangeline Thruway as a "shunpike".

Are you sure? Looks to me like it's a pretty clear choice: Pay the toll, or endure traffic-light hell.

It's not so clear, and it's not that much a choice.

LADOTD already did a toll study on I-49 South, and they found that even if the entire route was tolled, it would still account for less than half the revenue needed to finish the project. Also, tolls would have to be imposed on the long completed "free" segment between Morgan City and Raceland, which is essentially a non-starter since existing LA 182 could be used to shunpike, and there is usually strong opposition to tolling a segment that is already completed as a freeway.

Tolling the LRX does make sense because it is a peripheral loop that compliments the freeway system. Tolling the Connector, on the other hand, is not really possible because how and where would you place the toll booths or ART towers for collecting the tolls? You could possibly toll the segment just south of the Connector via a Texas tollway setup (2x3 toll mainlanes + 3 lane access roads via slip ramps), but would the public actually go for that..especially with the interchanges being proposed already being built for "free" with public funds?

My guess is that folks in Lafayette would sooner build Teche Ridge Bypass than endure a tolled Connector.

I'd probably prefer to wait until 2021 and see if some additional public revenue can be sought to complete the project first before I even begin to think about tolling the Connector.

jbnv

"Even if the entire route was tolled, it would still account for less than half the revenue needed to finish the project."

Some revenue is better than no revenue. Funny how people whine about there not being money to build our roads, yet when the obvious solution of tolling--literally people paying for using the road--comes up, the same people either whine about that too or make some ridiculous "shunpike" excuse.

When I go to the Austin area, I take SH 130 around the city instead of the various free routes through it. Why? Because I'm happy to pay for the privilege of little traffic and 80 MPH. I make that choice. The savings in time and frustration justify the expense. And knowing that I can silence my critics because I put my money where my mouth is also makes it worth it.

LA 182 parallels US 90 from Broussard all the way past Raceland. If your time is so cheap that you will pass through every small town on the way and hit every red light to save a few dollars, good for you. I'll be on the tollway, doing my civic duty and paying for my use of the infrastructure. Same thing with a tolled connector through Lafayette.

From now on, I'm not going to take anyone who uses the "shunpike" experience seriously unless they actually offer a plan for paying for these roads. They are just noisy gongs, not genuinely interested in solving our infrastructure issues.
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vdeane

Shunpiking does happen.  I remember someone posting about how traffic is getting worse on US 30 as Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls climb ever higher.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

jbnv

Of course it happens. If it's happening too much the tolls are too high. The point is that the fact that there are alternate routes and cheap people with poor awareness of the value of their time does not nullify the logic and value of tolling.
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Anthony_JK

Quote from: jbnv on March 05, 2019, 10:04:20 AM
"Even if the entire route was tolled, it would still account for less than half the revenue needed to finish the project."

Some revenue is better than no revenue. Funny how people whine about there not being money to build our roads, yet when the obvious solution of tolling--literally people paying for using the road--comes up, the same people either whine about that too or make some ridiculous "shunpike" excuse.

Not everybody wants to convert every controlled access highway into tollways. See the example of the Trans Texas Corridor.

Also, a highway that has already been funded and maintained through "free" gas taxes probably should not be converted into a tollway unless the funding goes towards upgrading it.

Quote
When I go to the Austin area, I take SH 130 around the city instead of the various free routes through it. Why? Because I'm happy to pay for the privilege of little traffic and 80 MPH. I make that choice. The savings in time and frustration justify the expense. And knowing that I can silence my critics because I put my money where my mouth is also makes it worth it.

What works for Austin doesn't necessarily work for Lafayette. And, there is talk of reducing if not eliminating the tolls on SH 130 as a means of rerouting I-35 in order to avoid reconstruction in downtown Austin.  Just because you personally are willing to pay tolls doesn't mean everybody else would, especially if they're already paying through gas taxes and other fees.

QuoteLA 182 parallels US 90 from Broussard all the way past Raceland. If your time is so cheap that you will pass through every small town on the way and hit every red light to save a few dollars, good for you. I'll be on the tollway, doing my civic duty and paying for my use of the infrastructure. Same thing with a tolled connector through Lafayette.

US 90 was originally built between Lafayette and Morgan City to be a freeway, and paid for with public funding. The fact that LA 182 exists as an alternative through local towns like New Iberia, Jeanerette, Baldwin, Franklin, and Patterson/Berwick changes nothing about that fact. And it's not as if "free" users of US 90 don't pay anything at all.

QuoteFrom now on, I'm not going to take anyone who uses the "shunpike" experience seriously unless they actually offer a plan for paying for these roads. They are just noisy gongs, not genuinely interested in solving our infrastructure issues.

Well, pardon me if I don't think that the solution to Louisiana's infrastructure deficits is to slap tolls on every freeway and push those not rich enough to afford 80 mph speeds into already insufficiently underfunded roads.

sprjus4

Quote from: jbnv on March 05, 2019, 10:04:20 AM
"Even if the entire route was tolled, it would still account for less than half the revenue needed to finish the project."

Some revenue is better than no revenue. Funny how people whine about there not being money to build our roads, yet when the obvious solution of tolling--literally people paying for using the road--comes up, the same people either whine about that too or make some ridiculous "shunpike" excuse.

When I go to the Austin area, I take SH 130 around the city instead of the various free routes through it. Why? Because I'm happy to pay for the privilege of little traffic and 80 MPH. I make that choice. The savings in time and frustration justify the expense. And knowing that I can silence my critics because I put my money where my mouth is also makes it worth it.

LA 182 parallels US 90 from Broussard all the way past Raceland. If your time is so cheap that you will pass through every small town on the way and hit every red light to save a few dollars, good for you. I'll be on the tollway, doing my civic duty and paying for my use of the infrastructure. Same thing with a tolled connector through Lafayette.

From now on, I'm not going to take anyone who uses the "shunpike" experience seriously unless they actually offer a plan for paying for these roads. They are just noisy gongs, not genuinely interested in solving our infrastructure issues.
Quote from: jbnv on March 05, 2019, 03:18:28 PM
Of course it happens. If it's happening too much the tolls are too high. The point is that the fact that there are alternate routes and cheap people with poor awareness of the value of their time does not nullify the logic and value of tolling.
We get you can afford all these tolls, and will ride them all day long and night. Do you have to insult people that don't? You're personally attacking some people by saying "cheap people" "poor awareness".

Toll roads aren't the answer to everything you know. When you want to blow a toll road through a poorer area, don't expect everyone to be able to afford to pay the tolls, and even better, insult them by calling them cheap and having poor awareness. They're more concerned about their financial decisions rather than time, and I respect that. I'll pay the tolls to, but understand you should accept others just as much that choose not to.

And the argument "some revenue is better than no revenue" is a poor one. Let me ask the question - when you have some of the revenue paid for, where do you get the rest? From a magical fairy land? You need to have a full plan in place that will fully pay for the project whether tolling or not. Just because tolls exist doesn't mean there's unlimited money all of a sudden. It doesn't work that way FYI. Here's a brief lesson - if the project is fully toll supported, and no public monies, the tolls have to be high, which in result can lead to shunpiking, and as much as you want to believe it's a joke, it sure exists. If the project is partially supported by tolls, and public monies as well, the tolls end up being lower, but you still have to have public monies to pay for it.

vdeane

Playing devil's advocate here, wouldn't it still cost the public less if only some money was raised by tolling than if none of it is?
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

abqtraveler

Quote from: vdeane on March 06, 2019, 12:25:44 PM
Playing devil's advocate here, wouldn't it still cost the public less if only some money was raised by tolling than if none of it is?

That's kind of the thought process for getting the I-69 bridge over the Ohio River built. Everyone knows that tolls won't be enough to cover the whole bill, but it'll make scrounging through the couch cushions for the remaining funds a lot easier.
2-d Interstates traveled:  4, 5, 8, 10, 15, 20, 24, 25, 27, 29, 35, 39, 40, 41, 43, 45, 49, 55, 57, 64, 65, 66, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76(E), 77, 78, 81, 83, 84(W), 85, 87(N), 89, 90, 91, 93, 94, 95

2-d Interstates Clinched:  12, 22, 30, 37, 44, 59, 80, 84(E), 86(E), 238, H1, H2, H3, H201

jbnv

Wow. I'm not rich by any means. I commute 45 miles to work one-way every day on two interstates, one of which is I-12 into Baton Rouge. Which means that if they were tolled, I'd be paying hundreds of dollars every month just to work. And guess what? If that money means less traffic and better-maintained roads, I'd pay it. (There's a construction project on that stretch that has been ongoing since I started this job two years ago and is still not done. I'm literally watching the results of the refusal to toll the traffic I sit in.)

Speaking of I-12 traffic: A large quantity of that traffic came from out of Louisiana. Considering that I'm happy to pay Texas to use their roads when I'm in Texas, I have no qualms about asking traffic from outside of Louisiana to pay Louisiana for using roads to pass through Louisiana. Not to mention that the 10/12 corridor is a known corridor for drugs and human trafficking. If paying tolls on that stretch discourages the trafficking and helps pay for more police, then put the transponders up tomorrow.

If Texas wants to remove the tolls on SH 130 to encourage people to use it instead of I-35, good for them and congratulations on having the luxury of doing that. My first concern is about the state of Louisiana roads. Which isn't very good and bears the burden of lots of traffic that doesn't compensate it in return.

Finally, if you rule out tolls as a means of funding our major highways, then you have no right to complain about the inability to fund them. And I'm going to call you out when you do.
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Plutonic Panda

A huge NO from me to the idea of any interstates being tolled!



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