Plan would drastically alter Highway 90 traffic

Business owners, public officials say adding median to Highway 90 through Boutte would create safety hazard

Business owners and St. Charles Parish Council members have expressed concern over a comprehensive construction program currently underway on Highway 90 that will change the way the busy roadway functions.

Some say the changes will create a safety hazard on Highway 90 while also making it difficult for motorists to access businesses in Boutte.

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development has hired a subcontractor to install a median with four turning lanes along the portion of Highway 90 running from Paul Maillard Road to Wal-Mart, where it will tie in to an existing median.

The plan will replace a mile-long center turning lane that currently allows motorists to access businesses on both sides of the highway. However, when the median is constructed some motorists will have to go down to the next turn lane and make a U-turn before they are able to get to their destination.

The turning lanes will be placed near Magnolia Street, which borders Majoria’s Supermarket, Schmill Street and on Melone Street, which is the road that travels between Hartman’s True Value and the St. Charles Boutte Bingo Hall.

There will also be a turn lane at River Ridge Drive and U-turn lanes at Wal-Mart.

Dana Majoria, co-owner of Majoria’s Supermarket, said the median would disrupt access to businesses on either side of the road.

“It is certainly horrible for businesses that won’t have a turnoff into their parking lot. People are going to have to go somewhere further and make a U-turn. You’ve got no traffic lights and a high volume of traffic, so I think it is definitely a safety hazard and detrimental to business,” he said.

The turn lanes will not allow motorists heading westbound on Highway 90 to turn directly into NAPA Auto Parts, J&K Printing, Vince’s Auto Parts, First National Bank, Zydeco’s and other Boutte businesses.

“I don’t know how it can be good for businesses when you go from equal access to limited access,” Majoria said. “Especially with the consideration that you have a big player like Wal-Mart and this is not going to affect them one iota.”

In addition to making it more difficult to access businesses, Majoria said the median will create a dangerous situation, especially during heavy traffic.

“In my opinion that is very, very dangerous. You get rush hour traffic and people not being able to turn where they want to turn…I think it is definitely a hazard,” he said.

The worst part, Majoria said, was that the plan was made without local input. In fact, he did not know about the plan until the first phases of construction were already underway in grading the shoulders of Highway 90 near Barton Avenue.

Locally, officials found out about the proposed changes after the state had awarded the contract.

“This plan went into effect and I know [DOTD] did not consult with businesses. Most people have no idea what is getting ready to happen, which I think is wrong,” Majoria said.

Sen. Gary Smith agrees that DOTD could have sought more input from those in the community prior to going ahead with their plans for Highway 90.

“I find that the communication can certainly be better. We on the state level even find out after they put a sign up some times,” Smith said. “The department was getting better and now it seems like they have regressed on this.”

In fact, Smith said he did not find out about the Highway 90 project until after it had been finalized and contracted.

“They actually sat down with us to let us know what they were doing, not to ask us what we thought about what they were doing,” he said.

In an attempt to insert some local input into the planned construction, Councilwoman Julia Fisher-Perrier and Smith, along with other interested community leaders, have been consulting with DOTD officials.

So far, Fisher-Perrier said her interactions with the state department have been fruitful.

“They are looking at it from a engineering perspective and I am looking at it from a common sense perspective of consumers, business owners and motorists,” she said.

Fisher-Perrier said that lives may be at stake should the planned changes go ahead.

“We recently had a fatal motorcycle accident in front of Wal-Mart (where there is a median) and I feel that is what a median through Boutte is going to cause,” Fisher-Perrier said. “The current center turning lane is safer because it allows you to cross two lanes, get into the center lane and merge safely.”

Another major concern is that school buses may be forced to make U-turns by using the new turning lanes. The St. Charles Parish School Board recently sent a letter to the DOTD explaining their objection to the plan when it comes to student safety.

Majoria said he is holding out hope that the DOTD will reconsider their plans.

“Hopefully, if they see that it is detrimental they will make changes,” he said.

Smith said DOTD officials are continuing a dialog with local representatives. Part of those discussions have resulted in a trial period where the state will set up cones in the Boutte business district on Highway 90 that will simulate what the completed project would do to traffic patterns.

“They are going to evaluate from our standpoint and the businesses standpoint using what would be the new situation and see how it affects both traffic and businesses,” Smith said.

Similar changes are also in the works for parts of Highway 90 running through Paradis and Bayou Gauche. That portion is part of a second phase of the project.

“There are areas where I can really commend them,” Smith said. “In Paradis we have been trying for years to get a turning lane, so we have some big improvements and that is one of the real pluses of this project that is going on.”

However, Smith made it very clear that he does not think replacing the center turning lane in Boutte is a good idea.

“That is why we have to meet with the secretary of DOTD and get the results of the cone study,” he said.

On Sept. 30, Fisher-Perrier, Smith and a group of concerned community leaders will be meeting with DOTD officials to discuss the plan.

“We have a meeting with Smith, myself, a member of the School Board and local business owners. This meeting will be our last effort to try and get them to stop on this Boutte portion and leave it as is,” Fisher-Perrier said.

In a statement, DOTD said concerns about the Highway  90 project in Boutte have been brought to their attention.

“DOTD will continue to work with local officials to address their concerns,” the statement reads.