DOTD holds ribbon cutting ceremony for La. 30 project completion
Friday, April 13, 2018 at 4:38:05 PM
Gonzales, La.- Today, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the completion of the La. 30 right turn lane project in Gonzales. DOTD Secretary Shawn D. Wilson, Ph.D., was joined by state and local officials to celebrate the completion.
“We are experiencing tremendous growth in Ascension Parish and in this community. This turn lane was needed in order to move traffic efficiently and reduce congestion along this corridor. DOTD is committed to investing its time and its efforts on this corridor. Legislative support is absolutely essentially to building these types of projects,” said Wilson.
This $1.9 million project consisted of adding a continuous right turn lane along 1.09 miles of La. 30 from Ashland Rd. to Tanger Blvd. The new turn lane was needed in order to help ease some of the traffic congestion along this highly traveled corridor that currently sees over 19,000 motorists daily.
“We are very pleased to celebrate these improvements to Highway 30. This will not only improve the traffic situation, getting people to and from their jobs more quickly and easily, but will also allow easier access to events at Lamar-Dixon Expo Center and to the wealth of shopping, dining, and hospitality services in this corridor. My thanks to DOTD and our state delegation for recognizing the importance of this project, and for getting it done,” said Ascension Parish President Kenny Matassa.
“LA 30 is a critical corridor for the City. The City is excited to see improvements along this roadway. The additional lane should help the heavy volume of commercial and industrial traffic which is important to our entire region,” said Gonzales Mayor Barney Arceneaux.
DOTD has been increasing its efforts into helping reduce traffic congestion along this route. Last October the department added a turn lane onto Veterans Blvd. from La. 30. Additionally, there has been proposed plans to potentially add three roundabouts, two near the I-10 ramps and another on St. Landry. These additions and improvements will allow for the continued economic development and commerce to grow in Ascension Parish.
“This has been a tremendous improvement to have this continuous turn lane. This is just a small part of what we are planning to do here on highway 30. We are certainly going to provide legislative support to continue these efforts. This is not going to come over night but this is something we are going to continue to fight for because this area is growing,” said Senator Ed Price.
“Today is a great day for not only the state of Louisiana but for Ascension Parish as well. Highway 30 is definitely growing and expanding in reference to the industries and developments here within the Parish, as well as the residential areas. There are plans for us to continue to develop highway 30 to highway 44 and going towards Baton Rouge. We will continue our efforts from the legislative standpoint to bring these projects to Ascension Parish,” said Representative Ken Brass.
R. J. Daigle & Sons Contractors was the successful bidder on this project. The project began in July 2017 and was completed on April 10, 2018.