Economists are not sure how much today’s closure of Interstate 10 impacts the local economy. Productivity is lost when workers can’t get to work on time, that’s for sure. But how much business is actually lost is difficult to calculate for a variety of reasons.
“It certainly has an impact for a day or so, but it’s not going to kill the economy,” LSU economist Jim Richardson says of today’s interstate wreck, which snarled traffic across the parish throughout the day.
While economists downplayed the economic impact, BRAC President/CEO Adam Knapp used the occasion to again champion the need for better planning in general—and for the long-discussed traffic loop, in particular.
“Decades of bad planning haven’t kept up with growth … and we’re feeling the pain today,” Knapp says.
While Baton Rouge is big enough for a competitive bus system, Knapp says it doesn’t have the size to justify a light rail system—which would be a preferable alternative when a freeway closes.
One of the pressing concerns throughout the day was the impact on emergency services. But officials at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center on Essen Lane say the impact was minimal. The hospital canceled some surgeries today, says spokeswoman Kelly Zimmerman, but emergency services have had adequate access to the hospital, although there have been some delays.
I-10 could possibly be closed through the night, officials say, which means the afternoon congestion is likely to be high. To help offset the gridlock, state employees who travel south from the downtown area were allowed to leave work at 2:30 p.m.
The Baton Rouge Fire Department says cleanup of isobutene spilled during the accident that shut down the freeway isn’t causing the delay in reopening the interstate. Rather, cleanup agencies are contending with removing the highly flammable liquid from the tanker truck that was rear-ended at 3:45 a.m. between Essen Lane and Bluebonnet Boulevard and has a damaged valve, says fire department spokesman Robert Combs.
For a past Business Report article on the pains suffered by delivery businesses and others in Baton Rouge during traffic jams like today’s, click here.
