DOTD: A Summary of 2014
Wednesday, December 31, 2014 at 3:46:04 PM
BATON ROUGE, La. – Today, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development highlighted various statewide achievements which transpired in 2014. Since January, DOTD has invested $885 million in transportation infrastructure projects, resulting in 342 projects that helped to improve over 1,340 miles of Louisiana’s roadways and 31 bridges.
DOTD Secretary Sherri H. LeBas said, “DOTD has an unwavering commitment to preserve our highway system, improve travel, enhance safety, and create economic opportunities throughout the state. I am proud of the progress DOTD achieved in 2014, and we foresee another productive year ahead.”
Below are some of the major highlights for 2014.
Established partnerships
This year brought three successful collaborations with Texas, Mississippi and Arkansas. In January, we celebrated alongside Texas DOT, the start of construction of the U.S. 84 Sabine River Bridge replacement project, which is expected to be completed in 2016. Nine months later, we worked together with Mississippi DOT to notify drivers of lane closures on the I-10 Pearl River Bridge to allow crews to repair expansion joints. The following month, a joint groundbreaking ceremony with Arkansas DOT marked the opening of more than 18 miles of Interstate 49 North from La. 1 to U.S. 71.
Completed several bridge rehabilitation projects
Several significant bridge projects across the state were completed this year. In Terrebonne Parish, projects included the replacement of the La. 3087 Prospect Street Bridge, followed by painting and structural repairs to the Little Caillou Bayou Bridge on La. 24 and the Bayou LaCarpe Bridge on La. 661.
In nearby Lafourche Parish, the new Tiger Drive Bridge replaced the existing bridge crossing at Bayou Lafourche in the city of Thibodaux. Another project in Washington Parish replaced the Lawrence Creek, Bogalusa and Coburn Creek bridges on La. 10.
The Judge Seeber Bridge in Orleans Parish, also known as the Claiborne Avenue Bridge, underwent a much needed cleaning and repainting.
Emergency repairs to the La. 77 Bridge over the Intracoastal Canal in Iberville Parish were completed after it was heavily damaged by a barge strike. The work was finished approximately 45 days earlier than originally projected.
In East Carroll Parish, a bridge replacement project was finished on La. 134 over Bayou Macon, as well as the replacement of the aging Jefferson Street Bridge over Bayou Teche in St. Mary Parish.
At the Interstate 20 Mississippi River Bridge in Madison Parish, the vertical and horizontal realignment was completed.
In St. Helena Parish, the project replacing the Tickfaw River and Relief Bridges on La. 38 near Easleyville was completed. The three timber bridges were replaced with concrete bridges and approximately one-half mile of the approach roadway was reconstructed.
A number of bridge projects commenced, including the final phase of the U.S. 190 Mississippi River Bridge painting and repair project in Baton Rouge. The project began in September and it is expected to be completed late 2016. Also, rehabilitation work began on the Ouachita River Bridge over Interstate 20 and is expected to finish in the summer 2015.
In Vermilion Parish, a project to replace the Maree Michel and Creek Bridges along La. 91 started. This project was selected as a pilot for the use of Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil-Integrated Bridge System technology, which eliminates the need for driven piles by applying compacted material as a support for the substructure. This technology also reduces construction costs, construction duration and minimizes environmental impacts. The project is expected to be completed in May 2015.
Delivered various capacity improvement projects
DOTD made progress in Red River Parish with a project that widened nearly one mile of La. 511 and constructed a center turn lane.
DOTD began work on Finks Hideaway Road, a heavily traveled, two-lane road in Ouachita Parish which will be widened to four lanes with a center turn lane. In Ascension Parish, land preparation began for the widening of La. 42. The work will include relocating utilities and installing a new sewer system for the parish.
Preparation work also began on a project to widen approximately one-half mile of La. 21 in St. Tammany Parish. It will include widening the roadway from two to four lanes between Bootlegger Road and 11th Avenue and the construction of sidewalks.
Furthermore, as part of the Geaux Wider Program ? a construction initiative designed to increase capacity, improve safety and enhance mobility on 20 miles of Interstates 10 and 12 in East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes ? work began to widen the remaining 3.6 miles from four to six lanes from Walker to half a mile west of Satsuma. The project is expected to be completed mid-2015. Also, in the same month, construction commenced to widen approximately two miles of La. 57 in Livingston Parish from two lanes to five lanes.
Continued our road preservation efforts
In Lafourche Parish, a project overlaid approximately ten miles of La. 304/La. 308.
In Jefferson Parish, approximately four miles were resurfaced, which included sections of Interstate 10 and U.S. 61. Later, approximately two miles of Interstate 10 from Clearview Boulevard to Causeway Boulevard were completed, as well as restoring over six miles of La. 1 between Port Fourchon and Grand Isle.
In Orleans Parish, more than three miles of Interstate 10 from the Interstate 610 split to the U.S. 90 split were resurfaced. Also, on Interstate 610 from Canal Blvd. to St. Bernard Avenue, concrete rehabilitation, shoulder resurfacing, drainage and fencing work were completed. Plus, under the Paths to Progress Program, close to 11 miles were resurfaced, in addition to curbs being repaired and ADA-compliant wheelchair ramps installed.
DOTD also resurfaced seven miles of La. 405/La. 69 in Iberville Parish, approximately eight miles of La. 309 in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes, eleven miles of U.S. 71 in Bossier Parish, and over nine miles of La. 841 in Ouachita Parish.
Furthermore, work was completed on an interstate ramp rehabilitation project to improve over 32 miles along Interstate 20 in Madison Parish and over 27 miles in Richland Parish.
Lastly, under the Quality Surface Program, a $425 million initiative to resurface and repair roadways statewide, 66 projects equaling approximately 345 miles were contracted in 2014.
Progress was made on the Interstate 49 South project under a new name
This year, a rebranding of the Interstate 49 South project was developed, and thus Geaux South was born. With a dedicated website and social media sites, Geaux South will provide updates on the progress of the Interstate 49 south corridor from Lafayette to New Orleans.
In August, as DOTD continued its commitment to the Interstate 49 south corridor project, state and local officials gathered to kick-off the start of the $57.1 million project which involves widening U.S. 90 to six-lanes from Albertson Parkway to north of Ambassador Caffery, constructing a new overpass over Albertson Parkway, new railroad overpass structures, and frontage roads.
Continued our commitment to safety
Throughout the year, DOTD continued to install cable barriers to help prevent collisions by deflecting vehicles that veer into the median and stopping them from crossing over into oncoming traffic. In Orleans Parish, approximately eight miles along Interstate 10 between Interstate 510 and the Twin Span Bridge were completed. With that, all 24 miles of I-10 in Orleans Parish now has some form of barrier protection. Moreover, the installation of 35 miles on Interstate 20 in Bossier and Webster parishes and more than 19 miles in Caddo and Bienville parishes began. Additionally, in Washington Parish, a project was completed which involved resurfacing the travel lanes and shoulders of La. 10, installing right turn lanes, and adding center-line and edge-line rumble strips to nearly 20 miles of roadway.
Enhanced connectivity across transportation modes
DOTD made strides in providing a transportation system that fosters diverse economic and job growth, international and domestic commerce, and tourism. In 2014, DOTD administered 169 projects equaling to $26 million to aviation, 8 projects equaling $146 million to ports, and 103 agreements equaling $16 million to public transportation. In addition, $11 million dollars were invested for flood protection.
Made waves with information accessibility
In July, updates were announced to the 511 Travel Information Website. The new design features live streaming video for traffic cameras, enhanced mapping and directional tools, in addition to upgraded navigational capabilities.
In August, MyDOTD, a new web service providing state residents access to updates on select projects, lane closure notifications, public meetings and DOTD news online or via e-mail was launched. The easy-to-use service allows subscribers to select and customize the information they want to access.
Finally, a major Intelligent Transportation Systems project was completed in the Monroe area on sections of Interstate 20, U.S. 80 and U.S. 165. This work involved installing CCTV cameras, dynamic message signs, and communications equipment for traffic operations improvements, incident management and congestion management.