Jefferson Highway - LA 73 Essen to Airline Highway Project Update
Monday, January 29, 2024 at 11:09:06 AM
(Note all dates are approximate and subject to change due to weather)
Section 1 Essen - Drusilla
The Jefferson Highway project from Essen to Airline Highway is moving along well.
The contractor continues work in Section 1 (LA 73: Drusilla to Essen Ln) completing full depth concrete pavement patching, replacing deteriorated concrete curb, sidewalks, driveways, handicap ramps, and adjusting drainage structures. Look for a few upcoming closures at the Drusilla/Jefferson intersection in the coming weekends. We will send out MyDOTD notices and post it on the project page.
Additional work for this section included the replacement of the box culvert along US 61 Airline service road near Cal Rd. (Remaining work includes asphalt mill/overlay in this section).
Scheduled finish for Section 1 is summer 2024.
Section 2 Drusilla – Airline Phase 1
We did have a slight delay with the start of Section 2 (LA 73: US 61 to Drusilla). We decided to hold off work until after the holiday season. We expect to begin by the end of January 2024. Freezing temperatures and a week of rain have hindered that progress as of right now.
Below is a breakdown of the schedule of work for Section 2 - Phases 1 and 2.
These timelines are subject to change due to weather and other issues, but the following information will give you a rough idea of how we plan to progress.
(I-12 onramp to Bluebonnet Road) - January 2024-April 2024
We will begin removing the center turn lane and inside lanes of this section. The starting point is right before the I-12 onramp to right after the Bluebonnet Road intersection (NOT Bluebonnet Blvd). We will dig down approximately 1 foot and then rebuild the roadway back up to about 2 inches below the current road surface. Throughout construction, there will be an opening for u-turns at the fire station. (Final road surface will come near the end of the entire project.)
(Inniswold Road to Airline) - April 2024 – July 2024
Once the I-12 onramp to Bluebonnet Road section is complete, we will open the lanes up and move down to Inniswold Road to conduct the same activity (Inniswold to Airline.) We should be finished roughly around July 2024. At this point all five lanes will be open in this section.
Section 2 Drusilla – Airline Phase 2
Crews will return to the I-12 onramp to Bluebonnet Road area and begin to remove the outside lanes.
NOTE: Outside lanes will take longer then the inside lanes because we have to address sidewalk issues as well as driveway access and side road access.
Crews will begin removing one direction at a time. So for example, if we start removing eastbound first, westbound will remain open to traffic providing four lanes of traffic (center turn lane, 2 westbound lanes and 1 eastbound lane.)
When the one outside lane is removed and rebuilt, then crews will move over across the road to remove the other direction outside lane – again the road will have four lanes open.
Once this work is complete in early 2025, all lanes will be open between I-12 onramp and Bluebonnet Road. Crews will move down the Inniswold Road to Airline area and conduct the same activity. Zone 1 will still not be complete, as it will be waiting on the final layer of asphalt called the riding course.
Once both zones are complete, the final operation will be the final layer of asphalt along the whole stretch of the project followed by permanent striping.
The estimated completion date for the whole project is Fall/winter 2025.
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