Louisiana

[UptownRoadGeek]

Eff the Northshore.  Anyways, bad news.  Louisiana has finally replaced the sign that was blown away by Katrina on westbound I-10 at the state line.  Old sign "St. Tammany Parish"  new sign:  "St. Tammany Parish" but SMALLER.

I was hoping for a similar setup as I-10 eastbound at the Texas state line with the state and parish.  However, in true LA fashion, they have failed me.

As many times as I have crossed into LA from TX, I've never payed attention to the sign detail.

In other news:
New support for La. 1 upgrade

[lamsalfl]

I was hoping for a similar setup to this one.

[Bryant5493]

^^ Do you have a photo of the St. Tammany Parish entrance sign from Hancock County, on I-10 west? I haven't been down there in awhile. Everytime I drove past, I always noticed the empty sign assembly.


Be well,

Bryant

[lamsalfl]

^^ Do you have a photo of the St. Tammany Parish entrance sign from Hancock County, on I-10 west? I haven't been down there in awhile. Everytime I drove past, I always noticed the empty sign assembly.

no, but I can tell you the sign is the standard sign that is used on Louisiana two-lane roads.  So, it's smaller.  It's like this:

[Bryant5493]

^^ Uh, yeah, that's unacceptable for a freeway sign. But, oh, well.


Be well,

Brynat

[froggie]

I have several photos of the Pearl River bridge floating around somewhere on my hard drive....I'll look later.

BTW, when did they replace the Sabine River bridge?

[lamsalfl]

oh at least several years ago.  I don't know the date, but it's been around since at least 2005.  And I-10 is 6-lanes pretty much from the state line to Exit 44 (US 165) with minor exceptions in the Lake Chizzle area.

I have several photos of the Pearl River bridge floating around somewhere on my hard drive....I'll look later.

BTW, when did they replace the Sabine River bridge?

[froggie]

Ok, thanks.  Haven't been that way since '98 so didn't know.

Discovered I had a Pearl River bridge photo online after all.  Here's how the sign looked in 2001.  It disappeared with Katrina (along with the diagonal support...the vertical support remained), and as of September, 2008 had not yet been replaced.

As a side note, this is the eastbound sign.  It was still there in 2008.

[lamsalfl]

broken links

[agentsteel53]

not broken, just trouble with the HTTP referer.  If you click, then highlight the URL in the menu bar and hit return, so it forces a reload with a blank referer, the image shows up.

It's a misfeature in HTTP.  It's supposed to fight hotlinking of images, and it does that successfully, but it also kills off links that open in their own windows. 

[UptownRoadGeek]

Not sure if he is a member here, but I got a text from the road and Andy Jung is reporting that Clearview has made its way to Louisiana.  He says he saw the signs on US 90 near New Iberia.

..and here they are:
Clearview in Louisiana

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Baton Rouge loop maps are doing the regional tour thing again.
http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/81202877.html

[UptownRoadGeek]

Baton Rouge loop maps are doing the regional tour thing again.
http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/81202877.html

So.... GeauxPass comes to Baton Rouge, well if the loop get's built anyway. I wonder what the toll schedule will be like.

[froggie]

Let's see if it gets built first....

[UptownRoadGeek]

Let's see if it gets built first....

If it does I would be surprised if I live to see it.  I can see it happening before I-49 gets built though.  There's also the Lafayette toll loop idea floating around.  It's probably a stretch, but LA-1 was once a pipe dream as well.

[UptownRoadGeek]

DOTD signs U.S. 90 interchange at La. 85 design-build contract

DOTD begins issuing bridge toll violations

[mightyace]

DOTD begins issuing bridge toll violations

On the one hand, it's nice that they gave a three month grace period on fee and fines for violations, but why did they wait nearly three months to start sending out notices?

[Chris]

Let's see if it gets built first....

If it does I would be surprised if I live to see it.  I can see it happening before I-49 gets built though.  There's also the Lafayette toll loop idea floating around.  It's probably a stretch, but LA-1 was once a pipe dream as well.

This kind of issues really annoy me, once there are plans for a road, there is also a need for it, so why wait 30 years to construct it? Imagine if they had this kind of attitude in the Interstate-construction era. If they were able to do it back then, why can't they do it right now?

[froggie]

Several reasons...

- The political landscape has changed significantly in the last 40 years.
- More public awareness and (as a general rule) increasing opposition to the impacts on the environment and right-of-way.
- Most of the Interstate system was built before NEPA mandated environmental studies.  Anything these days requires extensive environmental review, in addition to the normal location/design studies.
- Costs have gone up considerably, even after factoring inflation.
- Meanwhile, funding has not kept up with inflation.

[shoptb1]

Several reasons...

- The political landscape has changed significantly in the last 40 years.
- More public awareness and (as a general rule) increasing opposition to the impacts on the environment and right-of-way.
- Most of the Interstate system was built before NEPA mandated environmental studies.  Anything these days requires extensive environmental review, in addition to the normal location/design studies.
- Costs have gone up considerably, even after factoring inflation.
- Meanwhile, funding has not kept up with inflation.

Plus, don't forget that the majority original Interstate system was funded and built in the wake of the most prosperous economic times in US History; the boom following World War II.  The economic situation today is nothing like that, relatively speaking of course.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Let's see if it gets built first....

If it does I would be surprised if I live to see it.  I can see it happening before I-49 gets built though.  There's also the Lafayette toll loop idea floating around.  It's probably a stretch, but LA-1 was once a pipe dream as well.

This kind of issues really annoy me, once there are plans for a road, there is also a need for it, so why wait 30 years to construct it? Imagine if they had this kind of attitude in the Interstate-construction era. If they were able to do it back then, why can't they do it right now?

THere were plenty of interstate proposals from the 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s that took many years, if ever, before they were built.

[Bryant5493]

I read the main AARoads website a few minutes ago about LA-23, and was curious about the speed limit on LA-23 en route to Venice. I was thinking about making a roadtrip, in the distant future, to Venice to film that route. I saw the exit for LA-23 on U.S. 90 Business awhile back, when I was in Greater New Orleans.

Additionally, how are the Twin Spans progressing?


Be well,

Bryant

[UptownRoadGeek]

I read the main AARoads website a few minutes ago about LA-23, and was curious about the speed limit on LA-23 en route to Venice. I was thinking about making a roadtrip, in the distant future, to Venice to film that route. I saw the exit for LA-23 on U.S. 90 Business awhile back, when I was in Greater New Orleans.

Additionally, how are the Twin Spans progressing?


Be well,

Bryant

I'm not sure of the speed limit past Bayou Cane and the Naval Air Station, but I want to say that it is 65.  I think you can make it to the end in about an hour.

The westbound twinspan has been finished and open since Aug or Sept and is being used for eastbound traffic.  I haven't been that way since around that time, but the old westbound span should be gone by now.  Eastbound traffic goes up on the new eastbound span then crosses over to the new westbound span, then back to the new eastbound before coming ashore.  It makes for an interesting ride since the new eastbound span leans very noticeably leans to the right and the new westbound span leans to the left, so when you cross over you curve up to the left then down to the right.

[Bryant5493]

I'm not sure of the speed limit past Bayou Cane and the Naval Air Station, but I want to say that it is 65.  I think you can make it to the end in about an hour.

Okay, thanks.

The westbound twinspan has been finished and open since Aug or Sept and is being used for eastbound traffic.  I haven't been that way since around that time, but the old westbound span should be gone by now.  Eastbound traffic goes up on the new eastbound span then crosses over to the new westbound span, then back to the new eastbound before coming ashore.  It makes for an interesting ride since the new eastbound span leans very noticeably leans to the right and the new westbound span leans to the left, so when you cross over you curve up to the left then down to the right.

Okay, it seems to be same as the last time I went to New Orleans, which was early August.

Thanks.


Be well,

Bryant

[UptownRoadGeek]

-The final phase of the Earhart Blvd, a part of DOTD's TimedLA program, has begun in NOLA.

-LaDOTD "geauxs wider" to keep motorists up to date with BR area interstate projects. (widening, ramp meters, I-10, I-12, etc.)

-The South Louisiana Submerged Roads program and the New Orleans DPW Recovery campaign have both taken off.

-Pictures from I-10 @ Causeway:
Northbound Causeway to I-10 West ramp
Ground-level Causeway @ Vets
Phases I & II overview

-Huey P. Long Bridge photos:
Huey P. approach work

-John James Adubon Bridge progress pictures:
Tower progress


I just wish the Almonaster Ave and Florida Ave bridges were still on table.  They would have had a nice impact on the skyline from the west.
Florida Ave: