I haven’t decided what I hate more in terms of driving in Baton Rouge; Its either clogged up 2 lane roads or road construction. I suppose its the lesser of the 2 evils and honestly, there seems to be so much of both these days, you have to learn to live with it. The only good thing about the barrels is that they usually mean wider roads and more lanes are a’ comin’.

The latest targets of what I call the Baton Rouge 4 lane frenzy are popping up everywhere. New construction includes O’Neal Lane from Florida Blvd all the way to George O’Neal. The stretch of O’Neal between Florida and I-12 appears to be the 1st leg of this project because it is under HEAVY construction currently. From I-12 through to Harrells Ferry Rd will be the 2nd leg and from Harrells Ferry to George O’Neal will be the 3rd and final leg of this project. Harrells Ferry Rd from just east of O’Neal all the way to Millerville, as I recall, is up on the chopping block for widening. Tree removal in that area has already begun and I presume its just a matter of time before our old friends, the orange barrels, will be making their first appearance. Jones Creek is also under heavy construction from Harrells Ferry Rd to Coursey/George O’Neal which will result in 4 lanes there as well.

Probably the largest and no doubt the most welcomed project in the Baton Rouge area is the adding of an extra lane to I-12 from O’Neal Lane to Juban Rd. This is the site of the ever popular bottleneck that has evening rush hour traffic in the area backed up usually past Airline Hwy. It was such a wonderful idea to reduce the busiest interstate in the south, from 3 lanes to 2 lanes RIGHT in the middle of the city. Who would have ever thought this would cause  a traffic nightmare for anyone? Another road project that seems to have begun breathing life again is the Central Thruway which will extend O’Neal Lane from Florida Blvd all the way through to Greenwell Springs Rd. The day that opens for business will be the day i’ll be glad that O’Neal is 4 lanes from Florida to I-12.

Recently completed projects include the entire stretch of Perkins road from Siegen to Bluebonnet and Burbank from the Siegen Lane extension all the way through to Lee Drive. The latter makes a NICE bypass of the Interstate for LSU (class and gameday) traffic. Perkins road may never have a complete 4 lane corridor because the stretch between Bluebonnet and Essen Lane seems to be dragging on and on longer than any project I think I’ve ever seen. If you have had the pleasure of driving ANYWHERE in the vicinity of the Perkins and Bluebonnet intersection, you have undoubtedly been late getting somewhere due to that parking lot effect.