I49 in LA

[Anthony_JK]

the federal statutes the clearly deleniate the I-49 South corridor as running along the Evangeline Thruway and US 90 corridors.

[citation needed]

All I see is "United States Route 90 from I-49 in Lafayette, Louisiana, to I-10 in New Orleans", which is physically impossible to build. And does this mean it must cross the Huey Long Bridge and follow Jefferson-Claiborne?

Well...the Westbank Expressway is designated as US 90 Business, and I'm guessing that the I-49 designation also includes the I-49 Lafayette Connector, which does incorporate US 90 where it runs on the Evangeline Thruway.

And, I'd hardly consider it impossible to build, since most of the US 90 corridor is already either completed or being upgraded to Interstate standards...at least, between Lafayette/New Iberia and Raceland. The Raceland to NOLA segment will  have to be built mostly on new alignment (and elevated), but that's a different issue.

[NE2]

You're missing the point. US 90 turns west in Lafayette, with US 167 on the final bit to I-49. So if that's allowed, there's no legal reason a different connection such as a bypass would not be.

[Anthony_JK]

Awesome!

Just a side note, I looked at google street maps for that interchange now to revive my memory of what it looked like. The LA 182 exit still showed older green filled Louisiana shields. Are those still there? I seem to remember that maybe those signs were clearview when I drove through there about 4 years ago so the shields definitely would have been white on the BGS.

Considering that that segment of US 90 hasn't been upgraded as of yet (other than the 6-laning and the temporary J-turns), I'd probably assume that those old BGS's are still there as of now. Unfortunately, I haven't ridden there of late. Also, remember that Google Street Maps is sometimes kinda slow to update.

[Anthony_JK]

You're missing the point. US 90 turns west in Lafayette, with US 167 on the final bit to I-49. So if that's allowed, there's no legal reason a different connection such as a bypass would not be.

Not neccesarily, since, like I said, the definition of HPC 37 may in fact incorporate the I-49 Connector into their definition of "I-49 in Lafayette, Louisiana", essentially extending I-49 beyond its existing terminus at I-10. In that case, the segment of US 90 using the Evangeline Thruway would be merely an overlap.

The other issue of using Teche Ridge as a bypass is that its northern terminus would hook up with existing I-49 some 10 miles north of the current I-49/I-10 terminus. What would you do with that segment that would be removed from I-49?? Make it Business Spur I-49??

Also, you would lose the connection to the heart of Lafayette with Teche Ridge...and for what?? St. Martinville and Breaux Bridge may be awesome towns, but Lafayette is a mid-major metro area and the heart of the Acadiana oil/gas/cultural industry.

[ShawnP]

Agree on a eastern bypass as I can see a new I-49 backing up thru Lafayette but as you said the center of town needs a freeway plain and simple.

On a side note the first time I went WOW on a freeway was those I-10 bridges thru the swamps west of Baton Rouge. Went thru there in the summer right after they were done. A bus trip from Southern Florida to Southern California............oh joys but at 7 it gave me a chance to see some neat highways.

[Anthony_JK]

Actually, since I-49 would serve as an addition to the existing Evangeline Thruway, there wouldn't be that much of a backup; the freeway would serve the bulk of the through and heavy traffic, while the Thruway and the access road network flanking the mainline would serve the local traffic. Only real backup would occur during major hurricane evacuations through Lafayette....and you know how that was during Andrew and Lili.

If a bypass should be built as an accompaniment to I-49, I'd much prefer the LMX western loop first, since that would set the outer urban boundary for Lafayette Parish, provide another quick route for traffic wanting a more direct link to SE LA and NOLA without going through Baton Rouge, and could possibly be useful for a realigned I-10. Teche Ridge could be added later to complete the full loop.

[msunat97]

When is Northern I-49 expected to be completed & open for use?

[Anthony_JK]

When is Northern I-49 expected to be completed & open for use?

I'd say around 2016-2017 for the I-220 to Texarkana segment...then, depending on funding, another 4-5 years to complete the Shreveport ICC segment. Can't say anything about the other segments.

[Grzrd]

And, right on cue, here comes the detractors who still dream for the Teche Ridge Eastern Bypass through St. Martin Parish for I-49 South

There's life yet in I-49 route

Fortunately, this won't fly any more than when it was first proposed in 2001. Teche Ridge would still cost nearly $700-800 million to build, would require nearly 5 years of studies before even considering design and construction, would not remove any traffic from the existing Evangeline Thruway/US 90 corridor

This article also reports that a couple of state legislators have introduced a resolution requesting that LaDOTD conduct another study of the Teche Ridge route, but it further notes that a formal vote need not be taken unless a legislator objects and that to date no legislator has objected; however, it does not appear that LaDOTD is eager to conduct the study:

State Rep. Terry Landry, D-Lafayette, and state Rep. Mike Huval, R-Breaux Bridge, have asked the state Department of Transportation and Development to study the so-called "Teche Ridge"  route, which would push I-49 to the east of Lafayette through mostly undeveloped rural areas in St. Martin Parish ....
"I just think we ought to have something else on the table to look at,"  Landry said. "I look at it from a practical standpoint – less expensive, less intrusive."  ....
Lafayette resident Harold Schoeffler, one of the more vocal critics of building I-49 through Lafayette, said the Teche Ridge route was mapped out to be built with minimal disruption.
"It didn't take out anybody's business. It didn't take out anybody's home,"  he said.
Representatives Landry and Huval's request for the Teche Ridge study does not require a legislative vote unless another legislator objects.
So far, no one has.
The agency is "open to conducting a feasibility study for an alternate route"  if directed to do so by the Legislature, DOTD spokeswoman Deidra Lockhart said in a written statement.
Allain said he suspects DOTD would rather avoid the study, considering the current route has already been approved by federal highway officials and has survived a legal challenge.
"There is a lot of reluctance by them to change anything,"  he said.

A request is not a directive.  Looks like the Teche Ridge proponents will need to muster up even more legislative support.

This May 9 TV video report also reports on the current efforts to have another Teche Ridge study:

"It's not just about dollars and sense, it's about common sense," St. Martin Parish President Guy Cormier said, who supports another study on a Teche Ridge roadway. Some say it may be less costly than pouring money into I-49 south ....
St. Martin Parish previously paid for a study, but had little luck with the Department of Transportation.
"They basically ignored it," Cormier said ....
If approved, the findings of the study would be reported during next year's legislation session.

Meanwhile, in Shreveport ...

This TV video report reports that the Shreveport Housing Authority is proceeding with a development that may serve as an increased condemnation cost to the Inner City Connector:

Authorities plan to break ground on the first phase as soon as October, using six and a half million dollars for the first 40 apartments. It will be funded primarily from private equity

This May 1 TV video report reports that $6.6 million in HUD grant money will be "lost" if the development is not built by the end of 2014.  Well, is it private equity money or is it public HUD money?

[Anthony_JK]

Speaking of the I-49 ICC.....there was some drama during the second round of public meetings on the proposed connector; because an outside group known as "Loop It, LLC"; attempted to crash the meetings to propose their plan to dump the ICC in favor of using I-220 and LA 3132 to carry I-49, as well as an adjustment to the southern terminus of I-49 North to connect with US 71 (the Spring/Market couplet) and create a "boulevard" which would provide access to downtown from the north.

Needless to say, tempers flared a bit, with the Loop It folk accusing both LADOTD and NLCOG (the MPO representing Shreveport/Bossier) of "heavy handed censorship" because the group got so aggressive in pushing their alternative that they were asked to take it outside....and proponents of the ICC like state Representative Roy Burrell equally upset that they were even allowed to distort the process.

The documents section of the ICC website now has letters from both Rep. Burrell and Loop It stating their cases and complaining about the treatment, along with LADOTD's response to those letters. (Scroll to the bottom of the page for the links.)

The net result of all this is that LADOTD has now moved to add an LA 3132/I-220 alternative as one of the Build Alternatives in their EIS. (That was originally treated as the "No Build" scenario.) How that would affect existing I-49 between LA 3132 and I-20, and what improvements to LA 3132 would be required to meet the standards of a ful Interstate bypass, remain to be analyzed.

Stuff's getting REAL now, me thinks.

[Grzrd]

This TV video report reports that the Shreveport Housing Authority is proceeding with a development that may serve as an increased condemnation cost to the Inner City Connector

This May 1 TV video report reports that $6.6 million in HUD grant money will be "lost" if the development is not built by the end of 2014.

The documents section of the ICC website now has letters from both Rep. Burrell and Loop It stating their cases and complaining about the treatment, along with LADOTD's response to those letters. (Scroll to the bottom of the page for the links.)

In Representative Burrell's January 9 letter, he links the Shreveport Housing Authority with Loop It, LLC "as steering neighborhood residents against the potential building of the ICIC* project".  Now, I understand why the Housing Authority is pushing the new housing project so hard before the ICC study is completed.

Also, Rep. Burrell's letter identifies local architect Kim Mitchell as assisting in the formation of Loop It, LLC. Mitchell is interviewed in both of the above-linked videos about the Shreveport Housing Authority housing project.

Initially identifying the LA 3132/I-220 route as a "No Build" alternative was a serious flaw in the study since NLCOG et al now maintain that substantial costs (i.e. "Build" costs) will be associated with that route.  In the long run, it is better that those costs will be studied now instead of having that issue arise years from now.

edit * "ICIC" is the acronym for "Inner City I-49 Connector".

[roadman65]

Construction photos of the future interstate at three future interchanges along the route north of Shreveport.   These were taken last September, but cool shots of the roadway being built over the local roads and part of US 71.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/sets/72157633515296935/with/8752189721/
Enjoy.

[Grzrd]

This article also reports that a couple of state legislators have introduced a resolution requesting that LaDOTD conduct another study of the Teche Ridge route, but it further notes that a formal vote need not be taken unless a legislator objects and that to date no legislator has objected

This article reports that not only did a legislator object, but also that the study was blocked because over over one-third of Louisiana's state senators filed written objections to the study:

A proposal by two legislators to study an alternative path for Interstate 49 South that would bypass Lafayette appears dead for this year.
State Rep. Terry Landry, D-Lafayette, and state Rep. Mike Huval, R-Breaux Bridge, had filed a legislative "study request"  this session asking the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to evaluate the so-called "Teche Ridge"  route for I-49 South, which would skirt Lafayette to the east through rural St. Martin Parish.
Legislative study requests do not require a vote but can be blocked if at least one third of the members of the House or the Senate file written objections.
The request made it out of the House, but 15 of the state's 39 senators have objected to the proposed study, according to legislative records. ....
"Next year, I'll apply for it again, especially if there is no movement with this project,"  Landry said of I-49 South ....

[Anthony_JK]

This article also reports that a couple of state legislators have introduced a resolution requesting that LaDOTD conduct another study of the Teche Ridge route, but it further notes that a formal vote need not be taken unless a legislator objects and that to date no legislator has objected

This article reports that not only did a legislator object, but also that the study was blocked because over over one-third of Louisiana's state senators filed written objections to the study:

A proposal by two legislators to study an alternative path for Interstate 49 South that would bypass Lafayette appears dead for this year.
State Rep. Terry Landry, D-Lafayette, and state Rep. Mike Huval, R-Breaux Bridge, had filed a legislative "study request"  this session asking the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to evaluate the so-called "Teche Ridge"  route for I-49 South, which would skirt Lafayette to the east through rural St. Martin Parish.
Legislative study requests do not require a vote but can be blocked if at least one third of the members of the House or the Senate file written objections.
The request made it out of the House, but 15 of the state's 39 senators have objected to the proposed study, according to legislative records. ....
"Next year, I'll apply for it again, especially if there is no movement with this project,"  Landry said of I-49 South ....

Turns out that one of the senators who dropped the block on Teche Ridge happend to by my own rep, Elbert Guillory.

"For us to start over again would set the project back at least 10 years and throw away the millions of dollars that have been spent. ... That doesn't make sense to me,"  said state Sen. Elbert Guillory, D-Opelousas, one of the 15 senators who objected to the Teche Ridge study.

Maybe Elbert's next move might be to have Opelousas and central/southern St. Landry Parish incorporated into the Greater Acadiana MPO.  If New Iberia and St. Martinville/Breaux Bridge can be appended into the Lafayette MPO, then why not the second largest city in the Acadiana region?

Also...good to see Richard Burgess (the writer of that article and the head of the Advocate's Acadiana bureau) FINALLY get the nomenclature right with "I-49 South".

[Grzrd]

Unfortunately ... the opening may not occur until winter

Or, maybe this summer ....... LaDOTD has updated its I-49 North page, which includes an update of an I-49 North map.  The map has the estimated competion dates for Segments E,F,G and I to be Summer 2013 (the page has the completion date for Segment H to be Fall 2013 and the map has the Segment H completion date as Fall 2012; IIRC the map has the correct date).  Time will tell ...

[O Tamandua]

Unfortunately ... the opening may not occur until winter

Or, maybe this summer ....... LaDOTD has updated its I-49 North page, which includes an update of an I-49 North map.  The map has the estimated competion dates for Segments E,F,G and I to be Summer 2013 (the page has the completion date for Segment H to be Fall 2013 and the map has the Segment H completion date as Fall 2012; IIRC the map has the correct date).  Time will tell ...

Grzrd, there was an aircraft flyover video posted on a facebook page (that I don't think was the main "Build I-49" FB page) from top to near bottom (or vice versa) of this Caddo Parish segment...can't find it for the life of me.  Any idea where I could locate it?  Thanks in advance. 

[apjung]

Unfortunately ... the opening may not occur until winter

Or, maybe this summer ....... LaDOTD has updated its I-49 North page, which includes an update of an I-49 North map.  The map has the estimated competion dates for Segments E,F,G and I to be Summer 2013 (the page has the completion date for Segment H to be Fall 2013 and the map has the Segment H completion date as Fall 2012; IIRC the map has the correct date).  Time will tell ...

Grzrd, there was an aircraft flyover video posted on a facebook page (that I don't think was the main "Build I-49" FB page) from top to near bottom (or vice versa) of this Caddo Parish segment...can't find it for the life of me.  Any idea where I could locate it?  Thanks in advance. 

Ask and you shall receive
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=2141217667746&set=vb.173375266084410&type=2&theater
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HoxId74Ygc

[O Tamandua]

Thanks, apjung...that video's now 13 1/2 months old...we'll see what happens this summer!

[Grzrd]

The LADOTD just posted today a Notice of Intent to procure a Design-Build contract to upgrade the segment of US 90 from the Albertsons' Parkway/St. Nazaire Road intersection to the southern terminus of the Ambassador Caffery Parkway.
The pdf file announcement can be found here:
http://www.dotd.la.gov/highways/contractservices/H.010620/I-49_NOI_%28May_1_2013%29.pdf

I just noticed that LaDOTD now has a H.010620 - US 90 (I-49 South) Albertson's Parkway to Ambassador Caffery page and it has an amended and updated schedule for the RFQ. The Short-List is scheduled to be announced on July 10.

[Gordon]

http://www1.katc.com/files/49south.JPG . Maybe this will open for you but I like the propposed projects and the the study areas.

[Grzrd]

This article indicates that at least three major studies are progressing: (1) LaDOTD's study of tolling all of I-49 South, (2) the Lafayette Metropolitan Expressway Commission's study of tolling a shorter section of I-49 South in the Lafayette area, and (3) LaDOTD's study of how to lower the projected cost of the Raceland to Westbank Expressway section:

In a preliminary report last year .... DOTD estimated $5 billion worth of work remains, with most of that tied to the estimated $1.1 billion to build the partially elevated section through Lafayette and the estimated $3.7 billion for the 36-mile southern stretch from Raceland to the Westbank Expressway in Jefferson Parish.
DOTD is revisiting the plans for the stretch south of Raceland to determine if all of that portion needs to elevated.
Existing plans call for that section to be raised because of flooding concerns.
"It's desirable, but it may not be essential that it is elevated"

This article reports that the I-49 South Feasibility and Funding Task Force has lowered the estimated cost for the Calumet to Morgan City section from $410 million to $250 million by redesigning the project from an elevated highway to one that is built at grade level as much as possible:

The projected cost of raising U.S. 90 to Interstate standards between Calumet and Morgan City has been lowered about 40 percent, according to state Sen. Bret Allain, R-Franklin, at an I-49 South task force meeting at the Patterson Area Civic Center.
Completing the project is estimated at $250 million, down from $410 million. The lower cost is achieved through redesigning the project from an elevated highway to one that is built at grade level as much as possible, Allain said .... Joe Bloise of the state Highway Department of Transportation and Development made the first public disclosure Thursday morning that the state is looking at new concepts for constructing I-49 South.
The revised plans and cost estimate for Section 3, from Calumet to Morgan City, was presented to elected officials in a closed meeting a week ago in Patterson, according to Michael Tamperello, an Allain aide.
The new concept includes changing original plans to build an elevated highway through much of the stretch between Lafayette and the West Bank of New Orleans. Elected officials were briefed of these revised plans at closed door meetings in the past few weeks that took place in Jefferson, Lafourche and St. Charles parishes and Patterson.
The overall cost to complete that stretch was originally estimated at $4 billion to $5 billion.
Lowering the cost of the construction by nearly $160 million is a good thing, Lafayette City Parish-President Joey Durel, said with a caveat.
"You are always concerned when things change because you assume what was originally approved was the best way,"  Durel said after the meeting. "I hope we don't lower our standards." Durel is also the chairman of the task force.

Hate to say I told you so, but...
Perhaps, the idea of extending the TIMED tax and using that to fund I-49 South will gain some favor?

You must have the ear of Sam Jones:

Finding some source of funding is critical to complete the highway construction past the Wax Lake Outlet, state Rep. Sam Jones, D-Franklin, said on Thursday afternoon.
"I think we should consider renewing the TIMED Program that helped four-lane hundreds of miles of highways throughout the state in the past 30 years," Jones said. One of those projects was the four-laning of U.S. 90 into St. Mary Parish.
The Transportation Infrastructure Model for Economic Development Program is the single largest transportation program in state history, according to the Louisiana Department of Transportation website.
In the program, a 4-cent gasoline tax financed a $4.7 billion improvement program, which included widening 536 miles of state highways to four lanes on 11 project corridors, and widening and/or new construction on three major bridges since 1990.
"TIMED is set to expire soon,"  Jones said. "I believe we should consider a TIMED 2. This would not be a new tax but continue what is already in place. We could fund the I-49 South as a top priority project in it."
Implementing a new TIMED Program would distribute the cost of new highway construction to everybody throughout the state and would raise greater revenue and much faster than tolls, according to Jones.

Still awaiting that blasted toll study, though....

Maybe in approximately two months?:

A toll study is to be done in August, in conjunction with the new concepts the state highway department is presenting

[Grzrd]

This article

A proposal by two legislators to study an alternative path for Interstate 49 South that would bypass Lafayette appears dead for this year.
State Rep. Terry Landry, D-Lafayette .... "Next year, I'll apply for it again, especially if there is no movement with this project,"  Landry said of I-49 South ....

In this article, Rep. Landry sets forth another argument to not build the elevated I-49 Connector: it will be a "magnet for crime":

"It's no secret that I filed a resolution to study an alternative route to I-49,"  Landry said. "You would swear I had declared to be a communist."
He also said that the planned elevation of the Lafayette stretch could be a magnet for crime.

The rhetoric is heating up at the beginning of summer, too.

[Henry]

At the very least, it is a scary thought indeed!

[Anthony_JK]

The only thing scary is that Rep. Landry is lying through his teeth in order to kill I-49 through Lafayette.

This is a comment I attempted to leave the Daily Iberian article, but couldn't because they require a paid membership to post comments now:

Rep. Landry is simply WRONG regarding I-49 through Lafayette. The $1 billion cost is for the entire corridor from I-10 through LA 88, NOT just the segment through Lafayette. The actual cost of the I-49 Connector (I-10 to Lafayette Regional Airport)  is closer to $600-700 million, with the upgrade of US 90 from there southwards around $300 million.

Also...how a corriidor which will include an expansive joint use and community design program will create a "crime magnet" is a mystery to anyone.

His Teche Ridge alternative would not be a feasible alternative, would still cost pretty much the same as the proposed Connector, would not even attract enough traffic from the US 90 corridor to promote economic growth in St. Martin Parish, and would set back development of I-49 South for another 10 years. In short, the Legislature was correct to dismiss his proposal on common sense grounds.

And also,  LOL at the "communist" smack, because one of the Senators who opposed Rep. Landry's bill was Elbert Guillory...who just switched over to the Republican Party. 

[Grzrd]

here's a look at the I-49/MLK interchange:

This TV video report about the Segment J ground breaking ceremony indicates that the Segment K letting will be in December:

Bids for the last section "K" ... will start in December.

LaDOTD has posted a tentative December 11, 2013 letting date for Segment K and work on the I-49/ LA 3194 (MLK) interchange and on I-220 related to the I-49/ I-220 interchange:

Parish Caddo
Letting Date 2013-12-11
Project H.003495  455-09-0001
Route I-220, LA 3194, I-49
Project Name I-49 North (I-220-mlk Drive) Seg K
Type Improvement Conc. New Pavement (Seg K)
Estimated Cost Range $70,000,000 to $100,000,000
Length (miles) 4.30

Still on track to have a completed I-49 from I-220 to the AR/TX state line north of I-30 in the relatively near future .....