I49 in LA

[Gordon]

And where the hell is this "County Hwy 728", anyway?? I suppose he meant Surrey St./University Ave. near the airport??

Actually, most of the real ROW takings will be within the median of the Evangeline Thruway couplet and in a six-block section in downtown where the proposed freeway diverges from the Thruway median near Simcoe St. to gently curve parallel to the BNSF/UP mainline (closest point will be at the Johnston St./US 167 interchange) before rejoining the Thruway median near 12th St. It won't be too bad, as far as Interstates through cities goes.

The Lafayette segment will be kind of expensive due to it having to be elevated through most of the city and because the interchanges just south of Lafayette (Verot School Road and LA 89/Southpark Rd) have to accomodate crossing over the parallel BNSF rail line and maintaining the one way access roads that would serve the local traffic (and be used for the local "shunpikers" should they decide to toll the mainlaines). Still, though, it won't hold a candle to the Raceland/Boutte/Avondale segments, which will probably cost 3X as much due to the mandat of keeping it fully elevated to prevent flooding.


Anthony

Post Merge: February 29, 2012, 10:19:15 AM
Look on Google Earth At Lafayette,La. And near the Air Port you will see on the right  co hwy 728-8. on the the left is a symbol 182. That is where I come up with that. If it is wrong then Google Earth needs to correct that. Like I said I am not familiar with U.S. 90.

[Anthony_JK]

Look on Google Earth At Lafayette,La. And near the Air Port you will see on the right  co hwy 728-8. on the the left is a symbol 182. That is where I come up with that. If it is wrong then Google Earth needs to correct that. Like I said I am not familiar with U.S. 90.

Dude...I don't have to look at Google...I LIVE near Lafayette and have passed there pretty frequently.

And, you and Google are partially right...there is an LA 728-8 that runs on Surrey Street near the LRA...but that is a State, not Parish, highway. Lafayette Parish doesn't have numbered parish highways...Iberia Parish does.

And...LA 182 doesn't even connect with US 90...it basically runs sorta parallel with US 90/US 167 via University Avenue, but it turns south at Pinhook Road and generally goes parallel to US 90 until just south of Broussard.


Anthony

[lamsalfl]

Post Merge: December 31, 1969, 07:59:59 PM
Look on Google Earth At Lafayette,La. And near the Air Port you will see on the right  co hwy 728-8. on the the left is a symbol 182. That is where I come up with that. If it is wrong then Google Earth needs to correct that. Like I said I am not familiar with U.S. 90.

We were just busting your balls because you said "county" highway and not parish highway b/c LA doesn't have counties. 

[Gordon]

I didn't write county. I wrote co because that is what is on Google Earth. That is why I asked about looking that up. I know Louisiana does not have counties. Hey, just looking at I 49 south and supporting it being finished. If you guys live down in that area let me know why it so costly about it being finished , which Anthony explained in his response. I have traveled I 49 to I 10 and then to New Orleans. So I don't know what it like thru U.S. 90.

[lamsalfl]

I didn't write county. I wrote co because that is what is on Google Earth. That is why I asked about looking that up. I know Louisiana does not have counties. Hey, just looking at I 49 south and supporting it being finished. If you guys live down in that area let me know why it so costly about it being finished , which Anthony explained in his response. I have traveled I 49 to I 10 and then to New Orleans. So I don't know what it like thru U.S. 90.

Well I believe it will cost $3 billion to build an elevated expressway from the Westbank to Raceland.  I think that's the big hangup.

[Grzrd]

This opinion piece by John Norquist indicates that CNU will oppose an I-49 Inner-City Connector.  As done recently regarding the proposed New Orleans I-10 teardown, Chattanooga is cited as an example of a successful freeway teardown.  It will be interesting to see if CNU will set forth a specific alternative proposal for Shreveport.  Also, had CNU been vocal during the Stage 0 assessment, a "boulevard" alternative might have been under consideration now during the Stage 1 process.

[bugo]

Chattanooga is cited as an example of a successful freeway teardown.

What freeway was torn down in Chattanooga?

[codyg1985]

In Chattanooga, former freeway traffic distributed more efficiently after a large road structure was removed from its riverfront. Property values have climbed and downtown Chattanooga has become much more of a destination for tourists, workers and even new residents.

This is news to me too. I don't know of a freeway that used to go along the Riverfront.

Maybe they are referring to Riverfront Parkway which might have been a freeway at some point: http://g.co/maps/526z3

[Grzrd]

What freeway was torn down in Chattanooga?

Maybe they are referring to Riverfront Parkway which might have been a freeway at some point: http://g.co/maps/526z3

Pages 9-15/36 of this presentation regarding Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans use the Riverfront Parkway as an example.

[Anthony_JK]

This opinion piece by John Norquist indicates that CNU will oppose an I-49 Inner-City Connector.  As done recently regarding the proposed New Orleans I-10 teardown, Chattanooga is cited as an example of a successful freeway teardown.  It will be interesting to see if CNU will set forth a specific alternative proposal for Shreveport.  Also, had CNU been vocal during the Stage 0 assessment, a "boulevard" alternative might have been under consideration now during the Stage 1 process.

John Norquist needs to keep his sorrry butt our of our business.

I'm guessing that his alternative will be to reroute I-49 along LA 3132 and I-220, and either make existing I-49 into an I-x49 spur or tear that down and redistribute the traffic onto local streets.

Problem with that is that I-220 would have to be widened to 6 lanes; and Cross Lake is Shreveport's main drinking water supply which would be threatened by more hazmat travel on I-220.

But hey, tearing down freeways is FUN, and revitalizes neighborhoods, and forces people to save gas by going to light rail!!  So..full speed in reverse!!!

Jackass.


Anthony

[Grzrd]

The possibility of only tolling the six-mile I-49 Connector through Lafayette is being explored:

A group exploring the idea of using tolls to pay for the completion of Interstate 49 south is considering a narrowed focus on only the 6-mile portion through Lafayette.
The Lafayette Metropolitan Expressway Commission, which has taken the local lead in the search for I-49 funding, has been considering two tolling scenarios: an 18-mile stretch from Lafayette going south and the other extending 37 miles from Lafayette through Iberia Parish.
Commissioner Elaine Abell tells The Advocate (http://bit.ly/GHTFPg ) the commission has been asked by the state Department of Transportation and Development to consider tolls only for a 6-mile elevated portion through Lafayette.
The commission has the legal authority to oversee a toll project, but DOTD would need to grant a permit for it.
"We are just trying to get it built," Abell said. "It's a huge undertaking, but it can be done." ....
The 6-mile stretch through Lafayette – dubbed the "connector" – would cost an estimated $730 million, according to figures presented at a commission meeting this week.
Average tolls of up to $2 for the entire six-mile portion would be needed to make the project feasible if the focus were narrowed to the Lafayette connector, though that figure is a rough estimate and likely higher that what passenger vehicles would pay, according to consultants who have been hired by the commission to research the project.
Tolls likely could fund $300 million of the 6-mile connector, leaving a funding gap of $430 million that possibly could be filled with local tax revenue, state money, federal loans or a combination of sources, according to the commission's consultants, HNTB ....

The I-49 Connector Final EIS Summary of Comments and Responses indicates that, as of December 2002, 91% of the traffic on the Evangeline Thruway was local (page 11/96 of pdf). If that is still true, a $2.00 average toll for local traffic may be a hard sell to the citizens of Lafayette.

John Norquist needs to keep his sorrry butt our of our business .... Jackass.
Anthony

I have a feeling that it is only a matter of time before Norquist turns his attention from the Shreveport I-49 ICC and other projects to the elevated I-49 Connector, too.

[Anthony_JK]

The possibility of only tolling the six-mile I-49 Connector through Lafayette is being explored:

A group exploring the idea of using tolls to pay for the completion of Interstate 49 south is considering a narrowed focus on only the 6-mile portion through Lafayette.
The Lafayette Metropolitan Expressway Commission, which has taken the local lead in the search for I-49 funding, has been considering two tolling scenarios: an 18-mile stretch from Lafayette going south and the other extending 37 miles from Lafayette through Iberia Parish.
Commissioner Elaine Abell tells The Advocate (http://bit.ly/GHTFPg ) the commission has been asked by the state Department of Transportation and Development to consider tolls only for a 6-mile elevated portion through Lafayette.
The commission has the legal authority to oversee a toll project, but DOTD would need to grant a permit for it.
"We are just trying to get it built," Abell said. "It's a huge undertaking, but it can be done." ....
The 6-mile stretch through Lafayette – dubbed the "connector" – would cost an estimated $730 million, according to figures presented at a commission meeting this week.
Average tolls of up to $2 for the entire six-mile portion would be needed to make the project feasible if the focus were narrowed to the Lafayette connector, though that figure is a rough estimate and likely higher that what passenger vehicles would pay, according to consultants who have been hired by the commission to research the project.
Tolls likely could fund $300 million of the 6-mile connector, leaving a funding gap of $430 million that possibly could be filled with local tax revenue, state money, federal loans or a combination of sources, according to the commission's consultants, HNTB ....

Hmmm...are they talking about the segment from I-10 to the airport?? I never figured that that was 6 miles long. I'm wondering if they are also including the segment of US 90 from the airport south to the LA 182 interchange just south of Broussard...or even further down to the US 90/LA 88 interchange??

The I-49 Connector Final EIS Summary of Comments and Responses indicates that, as of December 2002, 91% of the traffic on the Evangeline Thruway was local (page 11/96 of pdf). If that is still true, a $2.00 average toll for local traffic may be a hard sell to the citizens of Lafayette.

John Norquist needs to keep his sorrry butt our of our business .... Jackass.
Anthony

I have a feeling that it is only a matter of time before Norquist turns his attention from the Shreveport I-49 ICC and other projects to the elevated I-49 Connector, too.

The people of the Sterling Grove neighborhood (just east of the proposed ROW for the I-49 Connector) might beat Norquist to the punch on that one.

Probably more likely is that there will be some calling for a reassessment of the Teche Ridge alternative, which would have re-routed I-49 east of Lafayette through St. Martin Parish, or perhaps building the Lafayette Metro Expressway loop around Lafayette to the west, and extending it north to meet I-49 near Carencro. The prohibitive costs of those alternatives, though, more than likely rules both of them out.

I always thought that the best solution would have been to toll the segment just south of Lafayette to New Iberia, converting it to a Texas-style tollway (similar to the Sam Houston Tollway/Beltway 8 setup in Houston), while leaving the segment within Lafayette proper as a freeway.

I still have hope, though, that it can be built as a freeway, without tolls. It would be a hard sell indeed, especially considering that the rest of US 90 and I-49 North from Shreveport northward was built as a freeway.

Anthony

[Grzrd]

I have a feeling that it is only a matter of time before Norquist turns his attention from the Shreveport I-49 ICC and other projects to the elevated I-49 Connector, too.

The people of the Sterling Grove neighborhood (just east of the proposed ROW for the I-49 Connector) might beat Norquist to the punch on that one.
Anthony

LaDOTD's scheduled May 9 I-49 Connector building demolition letting and the resultant demolitions may provide some urgency to wake up some opposition:

Lead Project: H.003453.3
Lead Federal No. : H003453
Parish(es): Lafayette
Description: I-49 CONNECTOR BUILDING DEMOLITION
Type: BUILDING DEMOLITION AND RELATED WORK

One small step for I-49 South ...

EDIT

The possibility of only tolling the six-mile I-49 Connector through Lafayette is being explored
The 6-mile stretch through Lafayette – dubbed the "connector" – would cost an estimated $730 million, according to figures presented at a commission meeting this week.
Average tolls of up to $2 for the entire six-mile portion would be needed to make the project feasible if the focus were narrowed to the Lafayette connector, though that figure is a rough estimate and likely higher that what passenger vehicles would pay, according to consultants who have been hired by the commission to research the project.
Tolls likely could fund $300 million of the 6-mile connector, leaving a funding gap of $430 million that possibly could be filled with local tax revenue, state money, federal loans or a combination of sources, according to the commission's consultants, HNTB ....
The I-49 Connector Final EIS Summary of Comments and Responses indicates that, as of December 2002, 91% of the traffic on the Evangeline Thruway was local (page 11/96 of pdf). If that is still true, a $2.00 average toll for local traffic may be a hard sell to the citizens of Lafayette.

It would be a hard sell indeed, especially considering that the rest of US 90 and I-49 North from Shreveport northward was built as a freeway.
Anthony

This March 23 TV video report includes a discussion of how Lafayette citizens could avoid the toll.

[Grzrd]

Lead Project: H.003453.3
Lead Federal No. : H003453
Parish(es): Lafayette
Description: I-49 CONNECTOR BUILDING DEMOLITION
Type: BUILDING DEMOLITION AND RELATED WORK

One small step for I-49 South ...

One backward step for I-49 South; the I-49 Connector building demolition project was withdrawn (and not simply postponed) on May 8:

STATE PROJECT-H.003453.3
ADDENDUM NO.-01 (Proposal)
ADDENDUM/WITHDRAW DATE-4/11/2012
PROJECT STATUS (withdrawn/postponed)-Withdrawn
5/8/2012

Maybe they decided to wait for results of the I-49 Connector toll study ...

[Gordon]

Today LA DOTD had a low bid of 5,812,205.63 from Gilchrist Construction Co. to Construct frontage roads from Darnell Rd. to LA 85. A small section to convert U.S. 90 to I 49.

[Gordon]

Welcome to the site! Login or Signup below.
Login|Signup |Why Sign Up?
Home News
Marks I-49 south phase
Jindal, others visit local school to tout finished step in project
Story
Comments
Image (2)
ShareShare
Print
Create a hardcopy of this page
Font Size:
Default font size
Larger font size
Previous Next

Hope Rurik / The Daily Iberian
Marks I-49 phase
Gov. Bobby Jindal greets, from left, Ross Helms, 5, Madison Helms, 6, and Amanda Bodin, 7, Wednesday before a ribbon cutting ceremony marking the completion of frontage roads as part of the I-49 South project.


Posted: Thursday, February 23, 2012 2:00 pm | Updated: 4:15 pm, Thu Feb 23, 2012.
BY HOPE RURIK, THE DAILY IBERIAN | 0 comments
Gov. Bobby Jindal was on hand along with other local and state officials at Caneview Elementary School Wednesday to celebrate the completion of another phase in the I-49 South project.
The most recent phase included 2.75 miles of frontage roads along U.S. 90 from Louisiana 83 to Darnall Road.
"The completion of this project is a big step in the effort to complete this corridor to make our roads safer for our families, and to make this region even more attractive to companies who want to invest and create jobs,"  he said.
But, he said, the work is certainly not finished. He outlined the work under way and the work to come.
Projects under way include:
- A $20 million project to widen U.S. 90 from four to six lanes from Pinhook Road to Broussard that will be completed by this summer.
- A $1.4 million project to construct service roads to connect Captain Cade Road to the interchange at U.S. 90 and Louisiana 88, which will be completed in the spring.
Projects to begin soon include:
- A $30 million project to construct an interchange on U.S. 90 at Louisiana 318 in St. Mary Parish. The environmental phase of this project will be completed in March. The project will be ready for construction in the next year.
- A $5 million project scheduled for the spring to construct frontage roads along U.S. 90 from Darnall Road to Louisiana 85.
- A $10 million-$15 million project to build a railroad crossing overpass between Louisiana 85 and 668. The project is in design phase and could go out for bid in fiscal year 2015.
- A $30 million-$50 million project that will construct an interchange at Ambassador Caffery and U.S. 90. The Department of Transportation and Development is scheduled to accept bids for construction in fiscal year 2016.
Jindal said if everything goes as planned, including funding, all but one segment of the project could be complete by 2017.
He said DOTD is applying for the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program. The state has the potential to receive $160 million from it.
"We're committed to completing I-49 South and we'll continue to look for additional sources of funding to finally fully fund this critical corridor,"  he said.
State Rep. Simone Champagne, R-Jeanerette, said the goal for the rest of this project is to continue the funding mechanism, calling it the "last leg of the journey."
The last portion to be complete in Iberia Parish will be the service roads up to Lafayette Parish. She said the route is the energy corridor and the seafood corridor, connecting all the important components in the area.
"That's why I say it is the corridor for the rest of the country,"  she said.
The governor also is looking to fund improvements for rural roads that are not considered eligible for match funding from the federal government.
The proposed legislation would bond out half of the State Highway Improvement Fund, which was created to fund mostly rural roads, generating $325 million to repair almost 1,000 miles of rural roadway.
Every parish would be eligible for the funding. Jindal said if the bill is passed, DOTD will evaluate roadways and make determinations on funding based on need.
Jindal said many of these roads are have become damaged and unsafe after years of use by agricultural machinery, by rapid economic growth and by impacts from natural disasters.
He said it's important to make these roads safer in addition to being more accessible to potential investors.
"I know it's a technical designation calling these "˜non-major routes.' The reality is, if you live on one of these roads, you're child goes to school on one of these roads, if your job is on one of these roads, it's a pretty major route to you,"  he said. "So it is important that we put money into this fund and put money into these roads."  I don't know if this was posted before but It is the first time I've seen it.

[mcdonaat]

Well does anyone else know why the US 90/Ambassador Caffery interchange was not built to Interstate-quality? Boggles my mind, because you're gonna have to tear up the intersection in a few years.

[NE2]

Well does anyone else know why the US 90/Ambassador Caffery interchange was not built to Interstate-quality?

What does the interchange look like? Google's aerial shows a simple at-grade intersection.

[Anthony_JK]

It is a simple at-grade intersection for now.

The plans I saw from LaDOTD call for a phased approach to building the interchange: first, as a stand-alone narrow diamond with temporary ramps to connect with mainline US 90; then, as the rest of US 90 is freewayized with overpasses and one-way Texas-style frontage roads, the ramps will be reversed to fat a more typical "X-ramp" configuration and the mainline widened to 6 lanes with auxillaries; then, finally, some directional connectors will be built to connect the mainlines with Ambassador Caffery.

Meanwhile, Bo Jindal is talking his usual nonsense about how "the corridor is nearly complete", because without finishing the segments in Lafayette Parish and Lafayette proper, all he's creating is a Cajun Breezwood. Plus, there's that segment from Wax Lake to Berwick via Patterson and Bayou Vista that needs to be completed...and let's not even begin on the Raceland to NOLA segment....


Anthony

[NE2]

It is a simple at-grade intersection for now.

Sounds reasonable. mcdonaat, would you rather have an at-grade or no connection because they decide to spend the money elsewhere?

[Grzrd]

- A $30 million-$50 million project that will construct an interchange at Ambassador Caffery and U.S. 90. The Department of Transportation and Development is scheduled to accept bids for construction in fiscal year 2016.

The plans I saw from LaDOTD call for a phased approach to building the interchange: first, as a stand-alone narrow diamond with temporary ramps to connect with mainline US 90; then, as the rest of US 90 is freewayized with overpasses and one-way Texas-style frontage roads, the ramps will be reversed to fat a more typical "X-ramp" configuration and the mainline widened to 6 lanes with auxillaries; then, finally, some directional connectors will be built to connect the mainlines with Ambassador Caffery.
Anthony

Anthony's prior thread on the interchange project, as well as LaDOTD's Request For Qualification Statements for a design-build letting on the project, provide some additional good info.

[Anthony_JK]

It is a simple at-grade intersection for now.

Sounds reasonable. mcdonaat, would you rather have an at-grade or no connection because they decide to spend the money elsewhere?

Well, Ambassador Caffery Parkway is a major thoroughfare for South Lafayette, so a connection with US 90 would be apropos. An interchange would be justified even if I-49 South wasn't even planned, but money had to be found first.

[mcdonaat]

It is a simple at-grade intersection for now.

Sounds reasonable. mcdonaat, would you rather have an at-grade or no connection because they decide to spend the money elsewhere?

Well, Ambassador Caffery Parkway is a major thoroughfare for South Lafayette, so a connection with US 90 would be apropos. An interchange would be justified even if I-49 South wasn't even planned, but money had to be found first.

I would MUCH rather a diamond-intersection now than later. Why worry about building excess stuff to supplement the corridor with the money that could have been used to build the right interchange, when you WILL have to build a freeway-style interchange to even designate the corridor as I-49?

Sounds like a confusing plan, though... I would have rather had a Y-style interchange than a lighted one. From my three months that I've lived in Lafayette since the connector was built, most people that I see use Amb. Caffery hit 90 South towards Broussard anyways.

[Anthony_JK]

In a word: MONEY.

At the time the southern extension of Ambassador Caffery Parkway was built, the segment of US 90 south of the airport was still under study to be upgraded, so no funds could be spent for an interchange at that time. Therefore, a temporary at-grade connection was built, with the full intention of upgrading it to an interchange when funding was located.

The "final build" for the Future I-49/AmbCaffery interchange will be a combination "urban diamond" connection with continuous 3-lane one-way Texas-style frontage roads running all the way between LA 88 and Lafayette (with the existing Evangeline Thruway incorporated into the frontage road system for local access), and some direct connectors between the 90/49 mainlanes and AmbCaffery. It won't be quite a fully directional interchange (the directional ramps will serve EB-NB and NB-WB movements, with other movements consigned to the frontage roads and the usual slip ramps to/from the mainlanes), but that will come when funding is secured for the full upgrade as part of I-49 South. For now, though, this will suffice pretty well, since traffic volumes and accessability to the main traffic creators (especially Mall of Acadiana and the new Our Lady of Lourdes hospital) certainly justify an interchange.

[mcdonaat]

Fingers crossed for the state to make this an attractive intersection... It's going to be your main entrance, basically, into Lafayette.