Louisiana

[jasonh300]

I had thought that was the plan. The tunnel has leaked pretty much since it was built.

Are you confusing the Harvey Tunnel with the Belle Chasse Tunnel (the Belle Chasse Car Wash)?  I've been driving the Harvey Tunnel since 1988 and don't ever recall it leaking.  The Belle Chasse Tunnel sometimes has water pouring out though the crack around the lowest point.

I suppose they didn't eliminate the tunnels since the Expressway is a commercial corridor.  The industrial areas on each side of the canal are much more easily reached from the tunnel, and in recent years, a diversion of Destrehan Avenue on the west side of the tunnel allows for traffic to come out of the tunnel and turn left directly onto an extension of Destrehan.

You are probably right. I didn't know there were two tunnels down there.

3 if you count the one in Houma, which is about an hour away.

[bwana39]

I had thought that was the plan. The tunnel has leaked pretty much since it was built.

Are you confusing the Harvey Tunnel with the Belle Chasse Tunnel (the Belle Chasse Car Wash)?  I've been driving the Harvey Tunnel since 1988 and don't ever recall it leaking.  The Belle Chasse Tunnel sometimes has water pouring out though the crack around the lowest point.

I suppose they didn't eliminate the tunnels since the Expressway is a commercial corridor.  The industrial areas on each side of the canal are much more easily reached from the tunnel, and in recent years, a diversion of Destrehan Avenue on the west side of the tunnel allows for traffic to come out of the tunnel and turn left directly onto an extension of Destrehan.

You are probably right. I didn't know there were two tunnels down there.

3 if you count the one in Houma, which is about an hour away.

I meant on the West bank. I was aware of the one in Houma.

[Bobby5280]

I remember the Belle Chasse tunnel well. Back in the early 1980's my dad scored us base housing on the Navy base on the South side of Belle Chasse. We drove through that tunnel often (usually when driving back home after a trip into the city).

It looks like they're building a new bridge over the canal that will carry both directions of traffic. That will solve the tunnel problem.

[froggie]

It looks like they're building a new bridge over the canal that will carry both directions of traffic. That will solve the tunnel problem.

It's also a higher-level bridge which will eliminate the need for a drawspan such as exists on the northbound side.  So it kinda kills two birds with one stone.

[jasonh300]

The new high-rise Belle Chasse bridge will replace both the Belle Chasse Tunnel and the Perez Bridge.  The tunnel will be permanently closed in the next 60 days, and they'll be routing southbound traffic onto the left-side of the new bridge, as the bridge approach is going to cut off access to the tunnel. They plan to have the entire thing complete sometime in 2024. Then they'll remove the tunnel and the old bridge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piZ3n3zjI7k

[roadman65]

The new high-rise Belle Chasse bridge will replace both the Belle Chasse Tunnel and the Perez Bridge.  The tunnel will be permanently closed in the next 60 days, and they'll be routing southbound traffic onto the left-side of the new bridge, as the bridge approach is going to cut off access to the tunnel. They plan to have the entire thing complete sometime in 2024. Then they'll remove the tunnel and the old bridge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piZ3n3zjI7k

I heard the tunnel closed yesterday. So that means the new bridge is opened as I write, or at least some of it then?

[jasonh300]

The tunnel is closed, and the new bridge is indeed partially open!

Belle Chasse Tunnel Permanent Closure - December 20, 2023
https://youtu.be/C1mAcYWMKa8

[roadman65]

I'm glad I captured this as any previous drive through this is now historic.
https://youtu.be/I9rUtELH2AU?si=ODuNY5ALPe9rq1cz

[jasonh300]

I'm glad I captured this as any previous drive through this is now historic.

What year was that?  That's before there was even any thought of replacing it!

[roadman65]

I'm glad I captured this as any previous drive through this is now historic.

What year was that?  That's before there was even any thought of replacing it!

2010 I think.

[roadwaywiz95]

This weekend will feature a special "Meet Preview" *live* webinar that will profile the New Orleans, LA metro area in preparation for the road meet that will be held there in February. This presentation will be hosted by yours truly and will feature contributions from folks across the AARoads Forum spectrum.

This presentation will be broadcast *live* on the 'roadwaywiz' YouTube channel on New Years Eve, Sunday, 12/31 at 3 PM ET. Whether you're on the fence about attending the meet, or are already looking forward to it, we hope that this will give you folks a good idea of what to expect and what to look for during your visit. We may also have some time for a *live* Q&A session regarding the meet itself if there is demand for it.

[roadman65]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/96206174878/permalink/10162330233874879/

[74/171FAN]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/96206174878/permalink/10162330233874879/

Those that are not in the FreewayJim Facebook group are unable to access the link.

[ccurley100]

I drove through the Harvey Tunnel eastbound a couple of weeks ago. It was closed heading west.

[roadman65]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/k1MVhZuBdfLaad848
What happened to La 24 connecting to La 1?  I remember in 2011 driving the closed gate road to access La 1.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/77PZ3pR96uXfxTn59



 Now you have to use both La 3235 and La 657 to connect between both highways.

[roadman65]

Does La 1 still implement the pre paid tolls on La 1 into Grand Isle? Or have they finally accepted the pay by plate system like other cash less tolls? 

I noticed that they removed the toll info signs in Larose and along La 3235.

[roadman65]

Is the new Belle Chasse Bridge yet completed? I recall the SB tunnel has been closed for a while with SB traffic using the new crossing, but is the NB traffic shifted to it or is the Judge Perez still being used?

[Anthony_JK]

Is the new Belle Chasse Bridge yet completed? I recall the SB tunnel has been closed for a while with SB traffic using the new crossing, but is the NB traffic shifted to it or is the Judge Perez still being used?

Almost there. 
LADOTD just announced a traffic shift where southbound traffic that was using the tunnel has now been transferred over to the southbound lanes of the new bridge; northbound traffic is still on the old lift bridge. The plans are to finish moving all traffic to the new bridge and implement tolling by the end of this summer.

https://wwwapps.dotd.la.gov/administration/announcements/Announcement.aspx?key=36007 

[lamsalfl]

I-910 now shows up on google maps, including its voice-guided directions.  Are they just reading the federal route log, or is the state about to sign this?   The route was designated in 2000 but remains unsigned.

[The Ghostbuster]

Louisiana's DOT did not follow through on giving the Business 90 freeway the Interstate 910 designation, so it remains unused. I don't know why Google Maps is posting it now, and only posting it between Barataria Blvd. and the Crescent City Connection Bridge. If they had given it an Interstate 49 marking, while very premature, it would be a little more understandable.

[bwana39]

There is a portion of it that is the unsigned I-910.

It is kind of like the unsigned I-345 in Dallas. Google Maps shows it as well.

[Alex]

There is a portion of it that is the unsigned I-910.

It is kind of like the unsigned I-345 in Dallas. Google Maps shows it as well.

The Google Maps reference is what Steven mentioned two posts prior.

Interstate 910 was meant to be a placeholder for the eventual extension of I-49. LADOTD initially requested to sign the Westbank Expressway as Interstate 49 in May 1999. This also included designating I-49 along the limited access section of U.S. 90 between Berwick and Raceland. The requests were rejected in September 1999 and designating U.S. 90 Business in New Orleans as an Interstate spur was offered instead.

[lamsalfl]

This is pretty out of the box, but maybe this can be the first social-media driven interstate.  Seeing 910 on google maps, people will get talking "wait what?" and the state sign it to "reduce confusion".   

[mrsman]

Business US 90 is a very weird way to sign a freeway.

Business routes are meant to be the parallel routes (old routes) of roads that one would travel on so that you actually drive by businesses.  A freeway will skip them, a business route will be alongside hotels, gas stations, markets, stores, etc.  For the most part.

Yes, there are some business Interstate routes out there like Biz-80 is Sacramento and a number of green expressways in the Carolinas that are being gotten rid of.  They show an older alignment, but I'm glad that the mileage of these business freeways is essentially shrinking.  [In Sacramento's case only the eastern portion is still signed that way and in NC, some of the signage is being renumbered completely.]

There are some business routes that are partial freeways.  I'm thinking of Biz-83 in York, PA.  George Street through town, but becomes an expressway south of town in its connection to the main I-83.

But Biz-US 90 to be a freeway, when the regular US 90 is not?