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Baton Rouge Transportation


ehyfield

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The Louisiana Turnpike System - a series of privately funded 4 lane tollways throughout the state with exits no closer than 10 miles apart.

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The system is designed to ensure the easy movement of freight and passengers for the next 100 years.   The distance between the exits (with the exception of exits at major bridge approaches) are to ensure that the system doesn't enable rapid sprawl or require frequent widening.    The Pennsylvania and New Jersey turnpikes follow similar setups in  many areas.

It also links New Orleans and Baton Rouge to northeastern Louisiana and Alexandria directly and provides an alternative route to the highly congested I-10 and I-12 between SW Louisiana and SE Louisiana.    Also included is a new bridge in the Carlyss area south of Lake Chuck, the extension of the Westbank Expressway in Jefferson Parish, a new bridge between Chalmette and Aurora Gardens south of New Orleans, a freeway loop partially encircling  Lafayette/Broussard/Youngsville, and a new bridge south of Baton Rouge at the Plaquemine Point area immediately south of Dow Chemical.    

With the exception of the smaller toll projects and the Lafayette bypass, the bulk of the traffic on this system would be vehicles traveling 20+ miles.    Not local commuters.

Edited by cajun
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Those are some excellent ideas Cajun :shades:  Thanks for the Visuals! Would make getting around the State much easier for sure!

Would the Turnpike stay North of  Watson & Central??    ....Another new  Bridge so close to the Audubon Bridge & Airline /190 Hwy Bridge?    Environmentalist might throw a fit with another Long Bridge cutting  across Atchafayla Basin...

Would love to see a Southern By-pass for BR tying into the Westbank Expressway!   Would help SO MUCH w Hurricane evacuations!!

Lafayette has Ambassador Caffrey now extended to US 90  making for a By-pass...would the Turnpike/Toll parallel this??

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A MESSAGE FROM THE DDD
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public meeting
I-10 Widening

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development will hold three public meetings to gather public input regarding the proposed improvements along I-10 from LA 415 in Port Allen to Essen Lane in Baton Rouge.

This proposed project will be partially funded with $360 million through Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle Bonds, also known as GARVEE Bonds, which was announced earlier this year as part of the State's Transportation Master Plan.

The meetings will be held in an open house format where attendees can ask questions and receive information regarding the widening of I-10. There will be a presentation at the start of the meeting and the same information will be provided in a taped presentation that will be shown continuously during the meeting. A continuous multi-media presentation will be shown at the meeting, as well as additional project information such as exhibits, alternative plans and an interactive exercise that will be available for the public to submit input regarding community connections and context sensitive solutions.

Representatives from DOTD and the project team will be available at the open house to answer questions and discuss issues related to the project.

The public meetings will be held at the following times and locations. Click on the links below for more information.

Tuesday, August 28th: McKinley Middle Magnet School
Wednesday, August 29th: Addis Community Center

Thursday, August 30th: Baton Rouge Marriott

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img-spacer.gifProject Website >>img-spacer.gif
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Here are layouts and preliminary design sketches from DOTD's website on the new I-10 widening.    As I've said, these are actually really good concepts, and they are pretty transparent where they intend to install new sound walls, which are sorely needed in many areas on that stretch.    This project will ultimately solve the biggest traffic bottleneck in the entire region.    With this project, traffic congestion in 2035 (including the expected growth) will be less than it is today in 2018.    This is a textbook example of when a capacity enhancement is justified, appropriate, and required.     In fact, this should have taken priority over widening I-12 and I-10 in the suburban parishes, as the need for additional capacity is higher, more immediate, already exists, and would be highly instrumental in supporting economic growth nearby business and industrial districts.

The layout plans:

Washington Street area (note the new Terrace off ramp under construction that is shaded in black):

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Dalrymple Drive (now including a way to go eastbound on I-10 from Dalrymple)

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Perkins Road area (the on and off ramp will become new parking areas and green spaces)

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Spandrel arch concept for the updated bridge over the City Park Lakes (note that this is a conceptual drawing only):

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Narin Drive Overpass, which will have to be replaced with a wider span.   This will include more adequate pedestrian accommodations and a more attractive, modern design:

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They also included a new flyover for the College Drive exit from westbound I-10 so that I-10  W traffic doesn't have to cross over 4 lanes of I-12 to exit.

They also have pretty standard conceptual drawings of I-10 between LA415 and LA1 in West Baton Rouge.   It's a simple widening from 4 to 6 lanes - possibly the easiest and least costly part of the project.    They aren't really interesting enough to post here.

There's also the possibility of the Washington Street interchange being updated with roundabouts.

I'm very encouraged by this effort to widen I-10.   I'm a little skeptical that they can actually accomplish it with the $380 million or so they have budgeted without additional federal grants and outlays, but those are also extremely possible for this particular project.

Edited by cajun
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YES INDEED Cajun...THANKS for posting this w the visuals :thumbsup: Really Like the improvements!  Interesting westbound flyover to Washington Street . Like the arches under the City Park Lake bridge too...it would be cool to Add some special night time lighting...

How about #3?? (posted back in Feb) Westbound New Express Ramp Westbound to College Drive?  That would be a welcomed game changer as well!

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This looks like a great plan. Although I can't believe that this will reduce congestion to less that what is present now, in 17 years. There's too many other projects that need to be completed that affect regional congestion for that to happen.

 

Richy, that was included in these plans. Hopefully nothing changes or more improvements are added.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

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I think there is some real opportunity for commercial and retail developments along Braddock near Washington once this I-10 project is done.  

Obviously nothing with a massive footprint could go there, but Braddock will essentially a feeder road with bike lanes (yes, they are connecting downtown and Dalrymple with bike lanes along this new route).  Traffic counts will be higher and the potential for visibility on I-10 is excellent.    Washington does at least provide a decent east/west route and and will get on/off ramps at every direction.  

I could easily see smaller hotels and restaurants opening there one day if the property along Braddock was re-zoned.   Maybe even smaller 2-4 story office buildings depending on how the design and zoning restrictions are.  

That would also mean that the residential areas west of Braddock could be a real opportunity for small investors looking to renovate and own rental property.   That area would be a few minutes from downtown and LSU with amazingly simple access to I-10.    This could also be a good thing for the little retail strip on Delpit. 

If we let another billboard get built there, I’m going to be upset.  There’s some actual potential there.  

Edited by cajun
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A MESSAGE FROM THE DDD
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Bike or Shuttle!
Multiple ways to get to the game!

Feel Like Biking?
Riverfront Levee Multi-Use Path offers a great transportation alternative to the LSU Football games. The path, beginning from downtown, extends south past Skip Bertman Drive, and ends at Farr Park. LSU fans exiting at Skip Bertman Drive can find bike racks on campus located next to Lockett Hall on Field House Drive. (Florida St. Trailhead to Skip Bertman Dr. - 2.5 miles)

Shuttle with Friends!
The Capital Area Transit System (CATS) will run its popular Touchdown Express service for LSU home games during the 2018 football season! It provides roundtrip service to Tiger Stadium from 4 convenient pick-up/drop-off downtown locations including;
1) Florida Street and I-110 Underpass, 2) Hotel Indigo, 3) Hollywood Casino 4) Belle of Baton Rouge. Touchdown Express provides local transit to and from LSU home games starting three hours before the game. The last shuttle leaves campus around an hour after the end of the football game.

Roundtrip tickets sell for $10 and are available on game day at the Hotel Indigo, the CATS terminal and online.

Other Transportation

Pastime, downtown's historic restaurant and institution located on South Blvd., also provides an LSU Gameday Shuttle service. Parking is available under the I-10 Bridge.

Be sure to make reservations at one of downtown's hotels for this big gameday weekend!

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On 10/12/2018 at 10:42 PM, richyb83 said:
A MESSAGE FROM THE DDD
biketolsu2_emailheader.jpg
img-spacer.gif
Bike or Shuttle!
Multiple ways to get to the game!

Feel Like Biking?
Riverfront Levee Multi-Use Path offers a great transportation alternative to the LSU Football games. The path, beginning from downtown, extends south past Skip Bertman Drive, and ends at Farr Park. LSU fans exiting at Skip Bertman Drive can find bike racks on campus located next to Lockett Hall on Field House Drive. (Florida St. Trailhead to Skip Bertman Dr. - 2.5 miles)

Shuttle with Friends!
The Capital Area Transit System (CATS) will run its popular Touchdown Express service for LSU home games during the 2018 football season! It provides roundtrip service to Tiger Stadium from 4 convenient pick-up/drop-off downtown locations including;
1) Florida Street and I-110 Underpass, 2) Hotel Indigo, 3) Hollywood Casino 4) Belle of Baton Rouge. Touchdown Express provides local transit to and from LSU home games starting three hours before the game. The last shuttle leaves campus around an hour after the end of the football game.

Roundtrip tickets sell for $10 and are available on game day at the Hotel Indigo, the CATS terminal and online.

Other Transportation

Pastime, downtown's historic restaurant and institution located on South Blvd., also provides an LSU Gameday Shuttle service. Parking is available under the I-10 Bridge.

Be sure to make reservations at one of downtown's hotels for this big gameday weekend!

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img-spacer.gifTouchdown express img-spacer.gif
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img-spacer.gifbike path img-spacer.gif
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img-spacer.gifpastime tiger transitimg-spacer.gif
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img-spacer.gifAccommodations img-spacer.gif
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Supposedly a record crowd at LSU for that amazing Georgia game - hotels were all booked out.   Lots of surge pricing with Uber and some very busy hotels and restaurants.   

Downtown is usually pretty busy during those weekends.    I'm sure the new Marriott had quite the crowd - and BTR had a few extra Delta flights into and out of ATL on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  

Really makes you wonder why Baton Rouge leadership doesn't make a bigger effort in attracting regional conventions and other things that could help drive retail, hospitality, and air travel in the area.

Edited by cajun
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On 6/5/2019 at 11:31 AM, Antrell Williams said:

Increasing traffic lanes increases traffic. We pay to increase traffic congestion, in theory.

Sent from my SM-N960U1 using Tapatalk
 

That's a nice platitude, but the reality is that the traffic is already there.    

Louisiana doesn't think far enough ahead to actually build infrastructure for the future (they can barely react to what is already happening around them), so they are in no danger of using infrastructure investment to encourage additional growth.  :)

Edited by cajun
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