re: I-10 widening through Baton Rouge could start next year

quote:

---

Still will not fix the bottleneck issue. Looking at you bridge.

---

The bottleneck that causes traffic to back up beyond Lobdell is the atrocious I-10/I-110 merge point that goes down to one lane, forcing everyone in the right lane to merge into the left lane while traffic exiting on Washington comes in from the left. This will fix that by providing continuous lanes through the city from I-10 E and making it impossible to exit on Washington Street from I-110 (forcing that traffic onto the new left hand Terrace street exit that is already under construction).

It doesn't replace the need for a new bridge south of I-10, and it doesn't eliminate the need to slow down for the tight turn off the bridge and crappy alignment of I-10, but it will be a huge impact by correcting the most glaring infrastructure frick up in the state.

quote:

---

How is this going to impact Parrain's, George's, Zippy's Ivars etc?

---

Who cares. Those Perkins Road businesses have held back progress long enough.

quote:

---

How is this going to impact Parrain's, George's, Zippy's Ivars etc?

---

It's not, although they may get more shared parking out of this since they are going to shut down the Perkins on-ramp to I-10 W.

quote:

---

Yes. That's why they're building the Terrace St. exit. Traffic from 110 will take Terrace to get into that neighborhood and the Washington Street exit will be whacked during the expansion. I-10 traffic wanting to get off at Washington will just have to go to Dalrymple and backtrack. to Washington that wa

---

From what I read, the Washington and Dalrymple exit will be combined. All traffic going to either one of those exits will have to go onto a feeder lane separate from I-10. I-110 traffic from the airport will have to exit on Terrace (left hand exit) and hook up with Washington/Dalrymple under the spans.

Another bonus is that you'll be able to loop around under the spans to a shared on ramp for I-10 E. Big deal since there currently isn't a way to go from I-10 E from Dalarymple.

Hopefully those plans haven't changed. They definitely seemed to put a lot of effort into cleaning up the issues with that I-10 section between the bridge and the LSU lakes. The Terrance Ave exit isn't part of this project....it's already under construction now.

High level overview of the changes to I-10 are here: The Advocate

quote:

---

Mississippi River bridge to Dalrymple
This section of the corridor is one of the biggest traffic chokepoints in the Baton Rouge area.

Motorists leaving the bridge and heading into Baton Rouge now have two eastbound lanes — briefly. The outside lane requires drivers leaving the bridge to quickly exit at little-used Washington Street.

That often sparks panic by motorists, who then force their way one lane over, and out of the Washington Street-bound lane, to continue eastbound on I-10.

Under the plan, what is now the Washington Street exit lane off the bridge would become the new eastbound lane that carries travelers through town to the I-10/12 split.

Motorists still would have the option of exiting farther east at a new, combined Washington Street/Dalrymple exit.

"That way, you will have two lanes coming from I-110 south and two lanes coming off the bridge," said Eric Kalivoda, deputy secretary for DOTD.

---

quote:

---

Perkins Road overpass
Business owners in the area have long criticized I-10 widening plans and predicted that adding new lanes would destroy restaurants, bars and shops.

Kalivoda said the state may not need any right of way for that section of the widening.

The work can be done, he said, without putting more restaurants and bars literally under a revamped I-10.

The key? Closing the on- and off-ramps at Perkins, which would create space on both sides of the existing interstate.

"In removing those ramps, and of course we own the right of way that the ramps currently occupy, that gives us the room to widen and add additional through lanes," he said.

Most of the widening will be done on the outside of the roadway.

Lanes have to be 12 feet wide.

---

quote:

---

Acadian Thruway
At Acadian Thruway, the westbound on-ramp and the eastbound off-ramp would be lengthened.

Both would be done after the Perkins Road on- and off-ramps are removed.

The westbound on-ramp to I-10, which is near TJ Ribs, is especially troublesome, and some motorists avoid it.

"It is a very short on-ramp," Kalivoda said. "But we can't really lengthen it because the Perkins Road on-ramp is in the way."

The eastbound auxiliary lane between Acadian and College is expected to remain.

Some soundwalls in the area will be relocated on mostly state-owned property to allow for the widening.

---

quote:

---

College Drive
At College Drive, the widening means there will be four eastbound lanes crossing the College Drive overpass, and the College Drive on-ramp will make five.

Significantly, a new elevated express ramp will be added on I-10 for westbound drivers headed to College Drive.

The current pattern is this: Westbound motorists on I-10, after they pass Essen Lane, see that the interstate narrows from three lanes to two near the ramp for eastbound I-12.

That often results in motorists trying to wedge into traffic to avoid heading east on I-12.

The changes would eliminate the triple lane change that westbound I-10 drivers have to make to exit at College Drive.

---

quote:

---

Traffic through the entire corridor was built in the 1960s for around 80,000 vehicles per day.

Instead, more than twice that number use it daily.

According to projections, more than 200,000 vehicles will be using it daily by 2032, boosting travel times by up to 80 percent.

---

quote:

---

Why not build a loop first then address this so can then do this project without as much of an effect on traffic?

---

"frick you. Not in my back yard."

That's why.

there will still be a bottleneck b/c of the bridge...i guess the numerous studies haven't figured that out

the ole wait til next year line.

quote:

---

Still will not fix the bottleneck issue. Looking at you bridge.

---

why will it not fix the bottleneck? they're putting 2 continuous lanes through the split. that's exactly what the bottleneck is and exactly what they're proposing to fix.

quote:

---

why will it not fix the bottleneck? they're putting 2 continuous lanes through the split. that's exactly what the bottleneck is and exactly what they're proposing to fix.

---

Correct, although there is probably still a need to widen I-10 from 4 to 6 lanes between LA1 and LA415.