Traffic Advisory: Camp Minden Burn Chamber Transport through Natchitoches, Red River, Bossier, Webster Parishes
Thursday, February 04, 2016 at 5:39:11 PM
The Louisiana Department of Transportation advises motorists that a burn chamber transport headed from the Port of Natchitoches to Camp Minden will snarl traffic significantly along the route beginning Monday, Feb. 8 until it arrives at Camp Minden on Thursday, Feb. 11.

The burn chamber transport measures 182 feet long by 27 feet, 6 inches high and 25 feet, 10 inches wide, will travel at a maximum of 15 mph.

Multiple utility and electric companies will be involved throughout the event to alleviate disruption of service as much as possible. State and local law enforcement will be on hand to help provide safety in the area. (See message from SWEPCO below for information on power disruptions.)

Traffic in the area will experience major slowdowns and stoppages with high congestion during this movement. DOTD advises motorists to avoid the route during the scheduled transport times.

Pertinent route information
• The transport begins at the Port in Natchitoches and travels along La. 486 to turn east on La. 6. From La. 6, the transport will turn north onto U.S. 71/84. The transport will stop overnight at around 5 p.m. on Day 1 in Coushatta near the U.S. 84W and U.S. 71N split.

• The transport will resume Tuesday, Feb. 9 at around 8 a.m. and travel along U.S. 71 to Elm Grove. The transport will stop overnight at around 5 p.m. on Day 2 across the street from the Elm Grove Post Office.

• The transport will resume Wednesday, Feb. 10 between 8:30 and 9 a.m., traveling on U.S. 71 to La. 527. The transport will turn left onto La. 157 and will stop overnight at around 5 p.m. near the intersection of La. 157 and La. 612. ** See intersections’ closure information below.

• The transport will resume Thursday, Feb. 11 sometime after 9 a.m. to allow for school transportation in the area. The transport will continue on La. 157 to the intersection of La. 3227, where it will turn right onto La. 3227. **See intersection closure information below. The transport will continue on La. 3227 and turn left on La. 164. The transport will continue on La. 164 and turn right at U.S. 79/80. ** See road closure information below.

Several intersections and roads along the route will be closes at various times on Wednesday, Feb. 10 and Thursday, Feb. 11. These closures include:
• Intersection of U.S. 71 and La. 527, Bossier Parish, at around 9:30 a.m., Wednesday. This intersection closure, to allow the transport to turn onto La. 527 from U.S. 71 is expected to last anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours with portions of time being a complete closure and other portions being a partial closure. While the transport is on La. 527 heading toward La. 157, no large commercial vehicles will be allowed to turn onto westbound La. 527 from La. 157. Regular vehicles will be limited to local traffic only.

• Intersection of La. 527 and La. 157, Bossier Parish, at around 1:30 p.m., Wednesday. This complete intersection closure, to allow the transport to turn onto La. 157 from La. 527 is expected to last anywhere from 45 minutes to a couple of hours. The transport will stop overnight near the intersection of La. 157 and La. 612 (Sligo Road). The load will park on the right shoulder and northbound lane, leaving the north turn lane and normal southbound lanes open to traffic. The transport will be well lit and signs placed to alert motorists.

• Intersection of La. 157 and La. 3227, Bossier Parish, at around 11 a.m., Thursday. This complete intersection closure, to allow the transport to turn right onto La. 3227, is expected to last about 15 minutes. Traffic on I-20 will be closely monitored to avoid off-ramp back up at this location.

• U.S. 79/80 partial closure, Webster Parish, at around 1 p.m., Thursday. The westbound traffic on U.S. 79/80 will be diverted onto Goodwill Road, as the transport crosses lanes of traffic to travel eastbound in the westbound lanes. This diversion is expected to last until the transport turns onto Freight Entrance Road at Camp Minden.

To see a map of the exact route and approximate timing, click here.

Information about electric service disruptions from SWEPCO:

"Electric service to a total of about 6,000 SWEPCO customers will be disrupted during the move at different times.
In order to allow the load to safely pass our facilities, SWEPCO crews will need to disconnect and reconnect electric wires that span the route at 452 places. Forty seven of these crossings are three-phase feeder circuits, making the move more complex and impacting more customers. SWEPCO employees will work to minimize disruptions to customers.

SWEPCO will have two supervisors, six troublemen and three line crews traveling with the load and will work to minimize disruptions to customers.

SWEPCO will notify impacted customers of the upcoming service inconvenience through automated phone calls. However, we may not be able to pinpoint the specific days and times service will be disrupted and the estimated restoration times."

For questions or concerns about this transport, please call LADOTD Public Information Officer, Cindy Dorfner, at 318-549-8402.