Mayor-President Melvin L. “Kip” Holden will host a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Highland Road project at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 in the project right-of-way at the Healing Place Church, with parking provided at Healing Place Church (19202 Highland Road). This ribbon cutting ceremony marks the 17th completed roadway construction project for the Green Light Plan.
“The improvements included within the Highland Road project, from the widening of the roadway to key intersection and bridge crossing improvements, open up yet another critical artery in East Baton Rouge Parish that will begin to pay immediate dividends for the citizens of Baton Rouge,” said Mayor-President Melvin “Kip” Holden. “With three major Green Light Plan projects completed in less than a month, we’re seeing the results of progress and our commitment to the Green Light Plan. This is the kind of progress that is the direct result of hard work, dedication, community support, and teamwork at all levels – collectively, we are committed to moving projects like this one forward and getting traffic moving in Baton Rouge.”
“I applaud the efforts of the Mayor and City-Parish planning officials to aggressively seek to continuously improve the infrastructure of Baton Rouge,” said DOTD Secretary Sherri H. LeBas. “This ribbon cutting builds upon the collaborative efforts of the City, Parish and State working for the best interests of our citizens.”
With a total construction cost of $14,959,575.80, the improvements to Highland Road include the expansion of approximately 1.3 miles of the State highway and widening the previous two-lane, undivided highway to a new, four-lane roadway that includes a 30-foot wide center median from Perkins Road to Airline Highway. The project also includes new bridge crossings at both Ward’s Creek and Old Ward’s Creek, major intersection improvements to the Barringer Foreman Road (Old Perkins Road East) at Highland Road intersection, and additional intersection improvements at both Perkins Road at Highland Road and Airline Highway at Highland Road. Improvements also include the upgrading of the railroad crossing near Perkins Road, performed by the Kansas City Southern Railroad Company, to accommodate the new lanes.
Ribbon Cutting Participants
From East Baton Rouge Parish:
Mayor-President Melvin L. “Kip” Holden, East Baton Rouge City-Parish
John Carpenter, Chief Administrative Officer, East Baton Rouge City-Parish
From the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development:
Secretary Sherri LeBas, P.E.
Trey Jesclard, P.E., Assistant Road Design Administrator
From the Department of Public Works:
William Daniel, P.E., Acting Director
Bryan Harmon, P.E., Deputy Director
Jim Ferguson, P.E., M.B.A., Chief Design Engineer
Ingolf Partenheimer, P.E., Chief Traffic Engineer
Jose Alvarez, P.E., Chief Construction Engineer
From the Green Light Plan; CSRS, Inc.:
Michael Songy, P.E., Program Director
Brad Ponder, P.E., Program Manager
From the Contractor; J. B. James Construction:
Gerald Denley
From the Engineering Consultant; GEC, Inc.:
Steve Metzger, P.E.
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