[BR Today]

Could you cite some of these transportation studies? I'd love to see where it says upgrading the interstate system is counterproductive in improving traffic flow. I think a lot of you may be missing the point of the loop. The whole idea is to lessen the traffic volumes through the middle of the city by giving those whose destination is beyond BR a practical alternate route. The loop is not designed to give commuters another way to get to work; it is designed to aid in their usual commute by reducing unnecessary thru-traffic. I-10 is a major
artery across our state, and its traffic volumes are not expected to decrease. And while I admit that improvement to BR's public transportation system is an avenue that should be explored, ignoring the city's need for a bypass as well as improvements to the current interstate is simply asinine.

Couldn't have said it better myself, Mr. Pink. I believe if you had to do a survey of every vehicle on the interstate during rush hour, you'd be amazed at what percentage of them are just passing through Baton Rouge and just got caught up in the traffic. If we could divert these people around BR via Walker from the east and Maringouin, or thereabout, from the west, they'd never create problems for us in town travellers. How nice would it be to give all those 18 wheelers and other trucks a route around the city so they can stay out of the mix.

Thanks for your reply,
BRT

If you do any research in urban planning, you will see a recurring theme in transportaion studies, Increasing Interstate capacity does not alleviate traffic problems. The increased sprawl will only cause more commuting and in a few years we will be exactly were we started, but billions of dollars in the hole. We need to offer transportion choices for our residents who chose to commute. That is the only answer to our traffic problems. So many other cities in the country are realizing that we can no longer build around the automobile. These cities will leave BR in the dust.

So forget the fact that the world is growig and urban sprawl is a part of life, lets just close the gates to the Baton Rouge area and quit issuing building permits and business permits. Why stop there, lets make birth control mandatory so we can put an end to this sprawl that you speak of.
Nice Post!

[mudbug]

Why stop there, lets make birth control mandatory so we can put an end to this sprawl that you speak of.
Nice Post!

Now, now, not mandatory birth control, just test the respective parents to make sure they are smart enough to be able to raise a kid.

Couldn't have said it better myself, Mr. Pink. I believe if you had to do a survey of every vehicle on the interstate during rush hour, you'd be amazed at what percentage of them are just passing through Baton Rouge and just got caught up in the traffic. If we could divert these people around BR via Walker from the east and Maringouin, or thereabout, from the west, they'd never create problems for us in town travellers. How nice would it be to give all those 18 wheelers and other trucks a route around the city so they can stay out of the mix.

Thanks for your reply,
BRT

So why is the souther route to New Orleans (the one through Ascension Parish) needed? We can simply send everyone on the norther route. If I remember correctly, there are several routes that cut through to New Orleans. How many people traveling through have a destination of Sorrento?

[Sunny]

Other than 18 wheelers, i don't know how much of it just passing thru traffic.

It seems if that was the case all the backups wouldn't immediately disappear after the Denham Exits.

[BrentW]

It would make more sense to have an electric train / metro system which runs from the outlaying parishes into Baton Rouge. It might even cost less to build.

A loop will be a waste of money because they will have an exit every 1500 feet which will just cause it to backup like the interstate we have now.

If they were to build a loop why not just elevate it and put it in the middle of the interstate we already have with no exits? It makes no sense to take the long way around. And there seems to be less upkeep on elevated roadways.

The biggest cause of traffic slowdowns and congestion is lack of driver education.

It would make more sense to have an electric train / metro system which runs from the outlaying parishes into Baton Rouge. It might even cost less to build.

A loop will be a waste of money because they will have an exit every 1500 feet which will just cause it to backup like the interstate we have now.

If they were to build a loop why not just elevate it and put it in the middle of the interstate we already have with no exits? It makes no sense to take the long way around. And there seems to be less upkeep on elevated roadways.

The biggest cause of traffic slowdowns and congestion is lack of driver education.

Brent

I agree with you 100 percent. Instead of uprooting people they could elevate and go over the same interstate they have now.

[Anthony_JK]

Personally, I would favor a southern bypass portion as a means of providing a more direct connection of I-10 bypassing Baton Rouge...but I don't feel that the northern loop is neccesary or needed. I believe that improving and widening existing I-10 from I-110 to I-12, reworking the I-10/I-110 Split interchange to get rid of the left exits and the bottleneck where I-10 East gets reduced to an auxillary lane for the Washington Street exit, and widening I-12 past the I-10/I-12 Split, would be far more cost effective, and would not need tolling, either.

In my view, this would be a better alternative:

1) Better access control on Airline Highway/US 190 from LA 415 to I-12, including a grade separation at the Airline Hwy./CN crossing and intersection with Choctaw Drive, and if feasible, a rework of the Old Mississippi River Bridge similar to what New Orleans is doing with the Huey P. Long Bridge.

2) Upgrade US 61 (Scenic Hwy.) from the I-110 terminus to the proposed John James Audobon Bridge connection near St. Francisville to Interstate standards (or at least with greater access control).

3) Extend LA 415 as a 4-lane divided highway from its present end at I-10 to connect with LA 1 near Brusly or Addis.

4) Upgrade LA 1 from Port Allen to Donaldsonville to at least expressway (if not freeway) standards (with bypasses at Brusly, Addis, Plaquemine, and Donaldsonville), and improve the existing connections with LA 70 and the Sunshine Bridge to I-10 and Gonzales.

5) Build a new bridge across the Mississippi River near Plaquemine, and use that to connect with existing roadways.

Ultimately, though, the best long-term solutions to reduce the through traffic congestion in Baton Rouge would be to develop more direct interstate alternatives to I-10....completing I-49 South between Lafayette and New Orleans, and developing a freeway within the US 165/US 425 corridor from I-10 near Lake Charles to Pine Bluff via Alexandria and Monroe, would do a lot to reduce the traffic load that I-10 carries.

Locally, I'd say that an greatly expanded bus service along with improvements in traffic control and some widening of surface streets would probably be the better solution there, too.

I'd rather do that than take the risk of investing $4 billion on a loop with this much controversy.


Anthony Kennerson
Opelousas

[Anthony_JK]

BTW...this is my first post to this board...I appreciate the opportunity to post more often.


Anthony

[BR Today]

BTW...this is my first post to this board...I appreciate the opportunity to post more often.


Anthony

Anthony, excellent first post and welcome to the site. If all of your ideas are as good as that one, I can only hope to see you participating on the board as much as you possibly could. Looking forward to seeing you around.


BR Today