For those who may not be on board with the state’s $360 million plan to widen Interstate 10, the East Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce has proposed a set of alternative—and less expensive—solutions to Baton Rouge’s interstate traffic problems.
The chamber is hosting an “EBR Traffic Open House” tonight to discuss its proposals, which it estimates will cost just $60 million to implement, as well as solicit additional ideas from the public.
Among the chamber’s proposed traffic solutions, presented by infrastructure committee chairman and local architect Coleman Brown, are:
- Implement more efficient towing practices for wrecks and stalled vehicles on the interstate, and provide an emergency vehicle-only crossover near I-10/110 at a cost of $2 million to $3 million.
- Extend the “dangerously short” westbound Perkins and Acadian entrance ramps, estimated to cost $20 million
- Widen Airline Highway from I-110 to Prairieville from four to six lanes and update traffic signals with camera sensors, estimated to cost $100 million
- Divert I-12 northbound traffic to the underutilized, eight-lane Florida Boulevard and expand the Airline Highway inner loop via an improved Denham Springs exit, estimated to cost $20 million.
- Restrict 18-wheeler truck speed and lane usage
Brown and the chamber also propose additional safety measures, such as increasing ramp width on the eastbound I-10 curve after the bridge and the Washington Street exit ramp. They also suggest connecting the Washington entrance ramp to the Dalrymple exit via a continuous auxiliary lane, similar to the one on I-12 between Airline Highway and Drusilla Lane.
The chamber’s infrastructure committee maintains its traffic proposals would be more affordable, less time consuming and less drastic than the Department of Transportation and Development’s I-10 widening plan.
“We’re not wanting to have entire sections of the interstate be demolished and rebuilt just to accommodate more lanes,” Brown says.
DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson has met with Brown to discuss the chamber’s proposals and appreciates their input. But Wilson says the I-10 widening is still the best option for improving traffic along the I-10 corridor.
“When we plan for infrastructure, we go through a much more comprehensive planning process,” Wilson says. “They have proposed a number of spot improvements, as opposed to corridor improvements.”
The I-10 widening plan has also already been thoroughly vetted, with the proper cost analyses, right-of-way considerations and environmental approval, Wilson says, adding that the widening is part of the statewide transportation plan.
Brown says he realizes tackling traffic issues in Baton Rouge will take a team effort and credits city and state officials for the work they’ve done to address them. But he wants to keep the discussion open for alternatives that are less costly and perhaps more efficient than overhauling the entire interstate.
The chamber’s EBR Traffic Open House will begin at 7:00 p.m. tonight at the Main Library on Goodwood Boulevard.
