Residents of St. Charles Parish will have to wait a little bit longer to find out exactly what route I-49 South will take through the area after the comment period for the project was pushed back to Nov. 30.
Originally, the record of decision on the project was to be completed last month. Once that decision is reached, the construction process can begin.
As of now, there is no definite date for the record of decision and its time frame will be based upon the comments the Louisiana Department of Transportation receives this month. Those interested in making comments can view the project’s web site at www.i49south.org. All of the comments that the department has received on the project can also be found at the site.
“It has just taken some time to get the pieces together,” said Lou Costa of DMJM/Harris, the state’s consultants on the project. “There was no significant reason for the schedule change.”
I-49 South is intended to provide a transcontinental highway linking the coastal ports of Louisiana to the entire central United States and central Canada. In Louisiana, I-49 would connect the interchange of I-49 and I-10 in New Orleans with I-49 in Arkansas. The corridor is currently complete between Shreveport and Lafayette with the remaining section connecting I-10 in Lafayette with I-10 in New Orleans.
The goal of the roadway is to improve access throughout the southern region of the state while facilitating hurricane evacuation and increasing the capacity to meet the travel demand in 2030, which is the design year for the project.
However, it would cause the relocation of 15 residences and 12 businesses and could include partial takings or takings of auxiliary facilities.
All of the residential takings in St. Charles Parish are in neighborhoods occupied by minority residents. Also, the project would impact an estimated 578.9 acres of wetlands.
In preparation for the project, there have been a number of public meetings held over the last four years, with several of those taking place inside the parish. Based on the comments and concerns from those meetings, the department released its Final Environmental Impact Statement, which included a selected alternative for the route.
– Alternative 1B evolved from early decisions that I-49 South should follow the US 90 right of way as closely as possible to minimize impacts to wetlands, and that an interchange with LA 182 should be provided. The alignment includes an elevated mainline across the Barataria Basin between LA 182 and Bayou Des Allemands to eliminate any additional impacts to local hydrology and the assurance that the I-49 mainline would remain above the probable flood elevation.
– Alternative 2B continues to an interchange with US 90 at the western end of the developed area along Dufrene Ponds. It then crosses the Ponds and Bayou Des Allemands, traverses the Paradis Wetland Mitigation Bank, and terminates near the interchange with LA 635 between Des Allemands and Paradis in St. Charles Parish.
Alternative 2B would achieve the goal of providing a freeway and an interchange with US 90 to provide local access, while avoiding or minimizing environmental impacts.
– Alternative 3B begins at the point that I-49 becomes parallel to US 90 in the Paradis Wetland Mitigation Bank, has an interchange with LA 645, travels south of Paradis, and turns north between Paradis and Mosella to cross US 90 and the BNSF Railroad. Interstate-to-interstate ramps connecting I-49 South to I-310 and a diamond interchange with LA 3127 would be constructed as part of this alternative. It would also include a new southern terminus for LA 3127 with a single signalized intersection at US 90 to replace the two intersections now operating.
This route will result in some residential relocations and noise impacts to properties in two low-income neighborhoods.
– Alternative 4A would parallel the BNSF Railroad as it crosses the Monsanto property and then curve to the right to cross the railroad into the US 90 right of way at Barton Avenue. It then continues through the Willowdale Boulevard interchange and crosses the Davis Pond Diversion canal.
This route would require the widening of the ROW between Barton Avenue and the Davis Pond Diversion Canal to improve the geometry of the Willowdale interchange.
– Alternative 5A extends along the US 90 alignment at the Davis Pond Diversion Canal to the beginning of US 90 business. From the Davis Pond Diversion Canal to the Avondale Canal the mainline would be on two elevated structures near the edges of the right of way with a 2-way, 2-lane service road between them on the existing fill section of US 90.
The right of way in this area would be expanded slightly to provide the desirable 25 feet outside the elevated roadways. The route would also call for the reorganization of the ramps to provide two full diamond interchanges, one with Lapalco Boulevard as the connecting road and the other with the combination of Dexter Drive/Homeplace Street, Butler Road, and Avondale Garden Road as connecting roads.
– Alternative 6B will provide a 6-lane mainline and a 6-lane frontage road system in the existing right of way of US 90 business. Refinements made since the third round of public meetings include full elevation of mainline I-49.
Previously, Alternative 6A descended to grade just west of Ames Boulevard and returned to an elevated section farther west. Other refinements also include the relocation of a northbound entrance and southbound exit between Westwood Drive and Ames Boulevard and a full diamond ramp configuration at Victory Drive.
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