Louisiana

Started by Alex, January 20, 2009, 12:43:48 AM

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The Ghostbuster

Thank you for the information. I agree it should not be torn down. Personally, I would reconstruct it with better aesthetic features, like better pictures of the trees that were razed for its construction.


Anthony_JK

LADOTD just released their proposed 2015 Statewide Transportation Plan Update this week. It was originally scheduled to be released for public feedback in October of last year, but the funding crunch delayed its publication.


The plan essentially assumes that without an aggressive increase in state and federal funding for major infrastructure repair and upgrade, only limited maintenance will be possible.


The road and rail portion of the plan also includes many of the "megaprojects" that has been discussed earlier here, as well as completion of the remaining projects developed under the TIMED program. The megaprojects are broken down into four priority levels; Priorities A & B would be funded under certain scenarios of additional state/Federal funding while Priorities C & D are mostly either down-the-road completed projects or pipe dreams.


Some currently relevant projects in Louisiana are included in this plan:


1) I-49 South: The I-49 Connector portion through Lafayette is funded under Priority A (the highest priority, assuming $200M in increased funds starting in 2020); as is an upgrade of US 90 between Raceland and Des Allemands. The Ricohoc/Wax Lake to Berwick segment (through Patterson and Bayou Vista), and the extension of the elevated portion of the Westbank Expressway from Ames Boulevard in Gretna to Westwego is covered under Priority B; which assumes an additional kick of Federal revenue. The remaining uncompleted segments (Des Allemands to Westwego via Boutte plus upgrades to the I-310 and US 90/Huey P. Long Bridge interchanges, and the upgrade in Lafayette Parish of US 90 from the airport to LA 88) would be placed in Priority C, pending future funding sources. (It should be noted, of course, that portions of that latter segment are already under construction or are planned to be constructed under Design-Build contracts.)


2) Interstate widening: Priority A includes: the widening of I-10 though Lake Charles (including reconstruction of the Calcasieu River Bridge); finishing the widening of I-10 west of Lake Charles to the Sabine River bridge/Texas state line; widening I-10 in Lafayette from the LA 93 (Scott) interchange to the I-10/I-49 interchange (to match the now under construction widening/rebuilding of I-10 east of there to LA 347 near Henderson); widening I-10 through Baton Rouge (6 to 8 lanes) and from LA 30 south of Baton Rouge through Gonzales to LA 74; I-20 through Shreveport/Bossier City and Monroe; I-12 through Slidell to the I-10/I-59 terminus; and I-10 in Kenner/Metarie from Williams Blvd. to Veterans Blvd (6/8). Unless otherwise noted, widening would be 4 to 6 lanes. I-10 south of LA 74 to LA 22, I-10 east of the Claiborne Elevated in New Orleans, and I-12 from Satsuma to I-55 in Tangipahoa Parish would get the widening treatment under Priority B. The remaining segments of I-10, I-20, and I-49 between Lafayette and Opelousas would get widened under Priorities C & D.


3) The I-49 Inner City Connector in Shreveport would be funded under Priority B right now, as would a new bridge across the Mississippi River south of Baton Rouge near Addis, a connector between that and LA 415, the Baton Rouge North Bypass loop, the North-South Hurricane Evacuation Corridor for Houma-Thibodeaux, and widening US 84 between Archie (its intersection with LA 28) and Ferriday. The reconstructed interchange between I-10 and Loyola Drive accessing the new Louis Armstrong NOIA terminal would also be included in Priority B.


4) The southern semicircle of the Alexandria Beltway/LA 28 realignment would be built under Priority A; the rest would fall under Priority D.


5) Possible projects that remain in the "pipe dream" stage are: a freeway along US 165 between I-10 and I-20, along with a "corridor upgrade" of US 165 through Monroe (possibly to freeway??) and a direct link to US 425 bypassing Bastrop/Mer Rouge; a freeway along US 190 from US 165 near Kinder to I-49 at Opelousas (but why none on US 190 between Opelousas and BTR???); an extension of I-510 across the Mississippi River at Chalmette connecting with the Westbank Expressway/Future I-49 South; an upgrade of MacArthur Drive in Alexandria to freeway standards; the BUMP conversion of Airline Highway in BTR to a freeway/tollway; the south Baton Rouge loop freeway bypass; and the proposed Westbank Corridor involving LA 1 and LA 3127.


Also, I-69 through NW LA is pushed back to Priorities C & D, as well as the extension of LA 3132 east of Flornoy Lucas Road to connect with proposed I-69.


The full listing of megaprojects can be found here. (pdf file, use either Adobe or Foxit PDF Reader)

cjk374

Talk of converting US 165 to a full freeway? I don't know why but that surprises me. IMHO, they will need to build a new freeeway around Monroe instead of trying to convert the current US 165 bypass. It is built up way to much with businesses. A new freeway will probably be cheaper.
Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

jbnv

Quote from: cjk374 on September 10, 2015, 10:07:08 PM
Talk of converting US 165 to a full freeway? I don't know why but that surprises me.

My first guess is that they want to improve access between Texas and central Louisiana.

My second guess is that they think US 165 is a more realistic corridor for a freeway than I-69.

Sometimes all it takes is to put an idea out there, people latch onto it and it starts moving.

There are a few cases for making US 190 a freeway from Kinder to Baton Rouge. US 190 is the default detour for I-10. Also, US 190 as a freeway or full expressway would collect a lot of traffic coming from/going to central Louisiana and north of Baton Rouge, keeping that traffic off of I-10.
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froggie

Quote4) The southern semicircle of the Alexandria Beltway/LA 28 realignment would be built under Priority A; the rest would fall under Priority D.

Is there more information somewhere about this project?

Brian556

Quote from JBNV:
Quote
There are a few cases for making US 190 a freeway from Kinder to Baton Rouge. US 190 is the default detour for I-10. Also, US 190 as a freeway or full expressway would collect a lot of traffic coming from/going to central Louisiana and north of Baton Rouge, keeping that traffic off of I-10.

If you are going I-49 south to I-10 east to Baton Rouge, turning east on US 190 takes 18 miles off the trip.
However, due to traffic signals, the time is about the same.

I like taking US 190 due to it's unique feel. In a way portions of it feel like a lost interstate, especially since the pavement is old, brown and rough, the guardrails are old and beat up, and the old style concrete bridge railings. And, as an added bonus, you have an old alignment next to it through the swamps.

As for the Baton Rouge congestion problem, it looks like re-routing I-10 to the south, and extending the I-12 designation west over the old I-10 would help greatly. Is that what they are planning to do?

jbnv

Quote from: Brian556 on September 11, 2015, 01:57:49 PM
If you are going I-49 south to I-10 east to Baton Rouge, turning east on US 190 takes 18 miles off the trip.
However, due to traffic signals, the time is about the same.

I like taking US 190 due to it's unique feel. In a way portions of it feel like a lost interstate, especially since the pavement is old, brown and rough, the guardrails are old and beat up, and the old style concrete bridge railings. And, as an added bonus, you have an old alignment next to it through the swamps.

I've taken 190 from Baton Rouge to Opelousas a few times recently. It still gets a substantial amount of traffic even without incidents on I-10. Those traffic lights are monsters when 190 picks up I-10 traffic. I think a case can be made for upgrading it to a freeway. In fact, that case should have been made 50 years ago. Besides bypassing multiple small towns, they will also have to replace the bridge at Morganza Spillway. Great for nostalgia, not so good for progress.

Quote from: Brian556 on September 11, 2015, 01:57:49 PM
As for the Baton Rouge congestion problem, it looks like re-routing I-10 to the south, and extending the I-12 designation west over the old I-10 would help greatly. Is that what they are planning to do?

I haven't heard of any such plan. I don't see much logic in doing that.
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cjk374

It has been bunches of years since I have driven US 190 between Opp & BR. Is the median still extremely narrow with that beat-up old double guardrail? Also, wouldn't they need to by-pass Port Barre, Krotz Springs and Lottie when they build 190 up to freeway standards?
Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

jbnv

#958
Quote from: cjk374 on September 11, 2015, 06:39:51 PM
It has been bunches of years since I have driven US 190 between Opp & BR. Is the median still extremely narrow with that beat-up old double guardrail? Also, wouldn't they need to by-pass Port Barre, Krotz Springs and Lottie when they build 190 up to freeway standards?

Yes (though not as much) and yes.

In Krotz Springs, the bridge over the Atchafalaya River drops right into town, so a bypass is impractical. However, the entire town is south of the highway, so they would need to build some new lanes north of the existing ones. It's doable but might not win many fans in town.

190 clips Port Barre by a small amount, so while an interchange with LA 103 would uproot several businesses, it is quite feasible.
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jbnv

Quote from: jbnv on September 11, 2015, 08:24:44 PM
Quote from: cjk374 on September 11, 2015, 06:39:51 PM
It has been bunches of years since I have driven US 190 between Opp & BR. Is the median still extremely narrow with that beat-up old double guardrail? Also, wouldn't they need to by-pass Port Barre, Krotz Springs and Lottie when they build 190 up to freeway standards?

Yes, at least part of the old double guardrail is still there.

As for bypasses, not if the locals give up some right-of-way.

In Krotz Springs, the bridge over the Atchafalaya River drops right into town, so a bypass is impractical. However, the entire town is south of the highway, so they would need to build some new lanes north of the existing ones. It's doable but might not win many fans in town.

190 clips Port Barre by a small amount. They could clear a right-of-way around the existing road, build one-way service roads, and then build an overpass along the existing route. Would uproot several businesses but otherwise would have only a small impact on the town.

Same thing in Livonia and other villages along the route.
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apjung

Quote from: Anthony_JK on September 10, 2015, 06:53:12 PM
LADOTD just released their proposed 2015 Statewide Transportation Plan Update this week. It was originally scheduled to be released for public feedback in October of last year, but the funding crunch delayed its publication.


The plan essentially assumes that without an aggressive increase in state and federal funding for major infrastructure repair and upgrade, only limited maintenance will be possible.


The road and rail portion of the plan also includes many of the "megaprojects" that has been discussed earlier here, as well as completion of the remaining projects developed under the TIMED program. The megaprojects are broken down into four priority levels; Priorities A & B would be funded under certain scenarios of additional state/Federal funding while Priorities C & D are mostly either down-the-road completed projects or pipe dreams.


Some currently relevant projects in Louisiana are included in this plan:


1) I-49 South: The I-49 Connector portion through Lafayette is funded under Priority A (the highest priority, assuming $200M in increased funds starting in 2020); as is an upgrade of US 90 between Raceland and Des Allemands. The Ricohoc/Wax Lake to Berwick segment (through Patterson and Bayou Vista), and the extension of the elevated portion of the Westbank Expressway from Ames Boulevard in Gretna to Westwego is covered under Priority B; which assumes an additional kick of Federal revenue. The remaining uncompleted segments (Des Allemands to Westwego via Boutte plus upgrades to the I-310 and US 90/Huey P. Long Bridge interchanges, and the upgrade in Lafayette Parish of US 90 from the airport to LA 88) would be placed in Priority C, pending future funding sources. (It should be noted, of course, that portions of that latter segment are already under construction or are planned to be constructed under Design-Build contracts.)


2) Interstate widening: Priority A includes: the widening of I-10 though Lake Charles (including reconstruction of the Calcasieu River Bridge); finishing the widening of I-10 west of Lake Charles to the Sabine River bridge/Texas state line; widening I-10 in Lafayette from the LA 93 (Scott) interchange to the I-10/I-49 interchange (to match the now under construction widening/rebuilding of I-10 east of there to LA 347 near Henderson); widening I-10 through Baton Rouge (6 to 8 lanes) and from LA 30 south of Baton Rouge through Gonzales to LA 74; I-20 through Shreveport/Bossier City and Monroe; I-12 through Slidell to the I-10/I-59 terminus; and I-10 in Kenner/Metarie from Williams Blvd. to Veterans Blvd (6/8). Unless otherwise noted, widening would be 4 to 6 lanes. I-10 south of LA 74 to LA 22, I-10 east of the Claiborne Elevated in New Orleans, and I-12 from Satsuma to I-55 in Tangipahoa Parish would get the widening treatment under Priority B. The remaining segments of I-10, I-20, and I-49 between Lafayette and Opelousas would get widened under Priorities C & D.


3) The I-49 Inner City Connector in Shreveport would be funded under Priority B right now, as would a new bridge across the Mississippi River south of Baton Rouge near Addis, a connector between that and LA 415, the Baton Rouge North Bypass loop, the North-South Hurricane Evacuation Corridor for Houma-Thibodeaux, and widening US 84 between Archie (its intersection with LA 28) and Ferriday. The reconstructed interchange between I-10 and Loyola Drive accessing the new Louis Armstrong NOIA terminal would also be included in Priority B.


4) The southern semicircle of the Alexandria Beltway/LA 28 realignment would be built under Priority A; the rest would fall under Priority D.


5) Possible projects that remain in the "pipe dream" stage are: a freeway along US 165 between I-10 and I-20, along with a "corridor upgrade" of US 165 through Monroe (possibly to freeway??) and a direct link to US 425 bypassing Bastrop/Mer Rouge; a freeway along US 190 from US 165 near Kinder to I-49 at Opelousas (but why none on US 190 between Opelousas and BTR???); an extension of I-510 across the Mississippi River at Chalmette connecting with the Westbank Expressway/Future I-49 South; an upgrade of MacArthur Drive in Alexandria to freeway standards; the BUMP conversion of Airline Highway in BTR to a freeway/tollway; the south Baton Rouge loop freeway bypass; and the proposed Westbank Corridor involving LA 1 and LA 3127.


Also, I-69 through NW LA is pushed back to Priorities C & D, as well as the extension of LA 3132 east of Flornoy Lucas Road to connect with proposed I-69.


The full listing of megaprojects can be found here. (pdf file, use either Adobe or Foxit PDF Reader)

It's a good thing that the I-510 Mississippi River Bridge hasn't been built yet. Had the proposed southern loop been built that would have connected I-310 and I-510, cruise ships wouldn't have been able to reach New Orleans. In the future when the bridge is built, it will most likely have the highest clearance over the River to allow these cruise ships to pass underneath.

Anthony_JK

#961
Quote from: jbnv on September 11, 2015, 09:02:46 PM
Quote from: jbnv on September 11, 2015, 08:24:44 PM
Quote from: cjk374 on September 11, 2015, 06:39:51 PM
It has been bunches of years since I have driven US 190 between Opp & BR. Is the median still extremely narrow with that beat-up old double guardrail? Also, wouldn't they need to by-pass Port Barre, Krotz Springs and Lottie when they build 190 up to freeway standards?

Yes, at least part of the old double guardrail is still there.

As for bypasses, not if the locals give up some right-of-way.

In Krotz Springs, the bridge over the Atchafalaya River drops right into town, so a bypass is impractical. However, the entire town is south of the highway, so they would need to build some new lanes north of the existing ones. It's doable but might not win many fans in town.

190 clips Port Barre by a small amount. They could clear a right-of-way around the existing road, build one-way service roads, and then build an overpass along the existing route. Would uproot several businesses but otherwise would have only a small impact on the town.

Same thing in Livonia and other villages along the route.
Quote from: jbnv on September 11, 2015, 09:02:46 PM
Quote from: jbnv on September 11, 2015, 08:24:44 PM
Quote from: cjk374 on September 11, 2015, 06:39:51 PM
It has been bunches of years since I have driven US 190 between Opp & BR. Is the median still extremely narrow with that beat-up old double guardrail? Also, wouldn't they need to by-pass Port Barre, Krotz Springs and Lottie when they build 190 up to freeway standards?

Yes, at least part of the old double guardrail is still there.

As for bypasses, not if the locals give up some right-of-way.

In Krotz Springs, the bridge over the Atchafalaya River drops right into town, so a bypass is impractical. However, the entire town is south of the highway, so they would need to build some new lanes north of the existing ones. It's doable but might not win many fans in town.

190 clips Port Barre by a small amount. They could clear a right-of-way around the existing road, build one-way service roads, and then build an overpass along the existing route. Would uproot several businesses but otherwise would have only a small impact on the town.

Same thing in Livonia and other villages along the route.

Port Barre would be somewhat of a big deal to upgrade because US 190 has plenty of businesses along it, and also LA 103 runs concurrently along US 190 between Saizan Street (the main street through town) and its southern extension on the other side of Bayou Teche (Port Barre is where Bayou Teche gives birth to Bayou Cortableau before going south through Arnaudville, Cecilia/Breaux Bridge, and St. Martinville). The roadway narrows to a 5-lane arterial (2 lanes both direction + center lane), so there would be some ROW needed, especially if frontage roads had to be built as well for local access. An alternative would be to run any freeway on new alignment alongside the UP railroad ROW and let the arterial serve as the local access route.

Krotz Springs would probably be less of a problem, but there would still be the issue of frontage roads for local access.

Livonia and Erwinville would probably be even  less of an issue, other than the fact that you would need a split interchange at LA 77 in Erwinville Livonia due to the proximity of Bayou Grosse de Tete.

The guardrail still remains from Krotz Springs eastward to the LA 1 intersection west of Erwinville, but LADOTD did remove it east of there to LA 415 some time ago in order to widen the median to a more modern standard.

Either way it goes, it would be some effort to convert this to a freeway...and how in the hell would you run it through Opelousas to begin with??


[Just noted and corrected my mistaking Erwinville for Livonia. Sorry about that.]

cjk374

Opelousas would have to be a new terrain bypass. I see that as being the most cost-efficient & least disturbing to the business owners and residents IMHO.
Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

cjk374

#963
Another classic structure is about to become just a memory:

http://wwwapps.dotd.la.gov/administration/announcements/Announcement.aspx?key=8620

If you are unable to call it up, the O.K. Allen bridge in Alexandria (US 71/165) will be demolished September 27.
Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

rlb2024

Quote from: cjk374 on September 15, 2015, 09:35:58 PM
Another classic structure is about to become just a memory:

http://wwwapps.dotd.la.gov/administration/announcements/Announcement.aspx?key=8620

If you are unable to call it up, the O.K. Allen bridge in Alexandria (US 71/165) will be demolished September 27.

Did something change since the press release was published?  It seems to say that the demolition will be this coming Saturday, September 19.

cjk374

Quote from: rlb2024 on September 15, 2015, 10:50:02 PM
Quote from: cjk374 on September 15, 2015, 09:35:58 PM
Another classic structure is about to become just a memory:

http://wwwapps.dotd.la.gov/administration/announcements/Announcement.aspx?key=8620

If you are unable to call it up, the O.K. Allen bridge in Alexandria (US 71/165) will be demolished September 27.

Did something change since the press release was published?  It seems to say that the demolition will be this coming Saturday, September 19.

I can't read one page & type the next. My bad.  :pan: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:
Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

jbnv

Quote from: cjk374 on September 15, 2015, 09:35:58 PM
Another classic structure is about to become just a memory: [T]he O.K. Allen bridge in Alexandria (US 71/165) will be demolished September 27.

Another monument to Louisiana politics going away. Good.
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brownpelican

#967
Speaking of I-10 in Baton Rouge, I found the video of the first public meeting of the I-10 Corridor study. It's roughly 25 minutes.


I also found the survey results from businesses, the general public and online.
http://i10br.com/project-info/

brownpelican

#968
When voters voted a few years ago to do away with the Crescent City Connection tolls, everyone thought the toll plaza would be removed. The toll booths are gone, but the gantry remains. According to WWL-TV, the state doesn't even have a plan in place to take the gantry down.

froggie

I know West Bank residents hated paying it, but eliminating that toll was one of the stupidest things they've ever done.  It's really going to come back to bite both them and the state when the spans (likely starting with the original span) needs major rehab in about 15-20 years...

jbnv

Quote from: brownpelican on October 21, 2015, 11:29:35 PM
When voters voted a few years ago to do away with the Crescent City Connection tolls, everyone thought the toll plaza would be removed. The toll booths are gone, but the gantry remains. According to WWL-TV, the state doesn't even have a plan in place to take the gantry down.

And this is a problem why?

Quote from: froggie on October 22, 2015, 07:46:49 AM
I know West Bank residents hated paying it, but eliminating that toll was one of the stupidest things they've ever done.  It's really going to come back to bite both them and the state when the spans (likely starting with the original span) needs major rehab in about 15-20 years...

Why I support tolling all major highways, especially now that electronic tolling is feasible and affordable.
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roadman65

Isn't the elimination of the tolls on the CCC, the main reason why the Canal Street Ferry discontinued automobiles?
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

brownpelican

Quote from: jbnv on October 22, 2015, 08:45:35 AM
Quote from: brownpelican on October 21, 2015, 11:29:35 PM
When voters voted a few years ago to do away with the Crescent City Connection tolls, everyone thought the toll plaza would be removed. The toll booths are gone, but the gantry remains. According to WWL-TV, the state doesn't even have a plan in place to take the gantry down.

And this is a problem why?

Probably because there are too many lanes still open through the toll plaza when it doesn't need to be.

pctech

Not holding my breath only any improvements to I-10 in Baton Rouge. However i'm sure we'll plenty of more studies. Consultants will be happy however!
I was in Denver about 3 weeks ago, traffic on I-25 was very heavy (my friend compared it to the 405 in LA) however at no point did the freeway narrow down to one lane with a drop lane exit!  :spin:

Grzrd

Quote from: Anthony_JK on September 10, 2015, 06:53:12 PM
LADOTD just released their proposed 2015 Statewide Transportation Plan Update this week ....
The full listing of megaprojects can be found here. (pdf file, use either Adobe or Foxit PDF Reader)

LaDOTD has issued a November 19 Announcement that the Louisiana Transportation Policy Committee has unanimously voted to accept LaDOTD's Statewide Transportation Plan.  The announcement does not mention any changes to the proposed plan.



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