While state officials await word on whether Louisiana will receive some or all of the $100 million in federal FASTLANE transportation funds it requested earlier this spring, planning is already underway to relocate the Washington Street exit on Interstate-10—one of the sources of chronic congestion along I-10 East.
Planning for the project is being fast-tracked by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, while longer-term megaprojects—like widening I-10 from the Mississippi River bridge to the I-10/I-12 split—slowly make their way through the multistaged federal planning process.
There’s still no word on where exactly the new exit will be located. Preliminary designs have suggested it could tie in at Terrace Street, but Deputy Transportation Secretary Eric Kalivoda says it’s too soon to say for sure.
“Terrace Street is where we showed it in the concept plan, but there is no best bet at this stage,” Kalivoda says.
Gov. John Bel Edwards has identified moving the Washington Street exit—which would be relocated from the right to the left side of I-10 east—as one of the top priorities for his administration.
Earlier this year, President Barack Obama and U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx stated their support to help ease congestion along Baton Rouge’s overtaxed stretch of interstate.
Edwards has said the state is hoping for the federal grant money to complete a separate project on I-10 near the Atchafalaya Basin, which would free up state funds for Washington Street and other projects.
The state could find out as soon as early June whether it will receive the grant money, though word may not come until fall, and competition for the funds will be stiff. Kalivoda recently learned that $9.8 billion worth of projects are competing for $800 million in federal FASTLANE funds. Still, he is optimistic Baton Rouge will receive something, given the administration’s previously stated support of the Capital Region.
Even if the funds do not materialize, planning for the Washington Street project will move forward. That may be good news for frustrated commuters, though relief won’t be coming any time soon. It would likely be 24 months at the earliest—after a public comment period—before the project could be completed.
—Stephanie Riegel
