I-12 ramp meters praised
The installation of traffic signals along Interstate 12 has led to fewer crashes and faster travel times, state officials said Wednesday.
Similar changes are also being considered for I-10 in Baton Rouge, said Sherri LeBas, secretary of the state Department of Transportation and Development.
“We are very pleased with the results,” LeBas said.
The signals, which are called ramp meters, force cars and trucks to proceed one at a time along entrance ramps onto I-12 to make merging easier in heavy traffic.
And the result is 12 percent fewer crashes and travel times that have improved by 17 percent, LeBas said.
Fourteen ramp meters have been erected along I-12 since June 2010.
They extend from Essen Lane in Baton Rouge to the Walker/La. 447 exit.
The final two, at the O’Neal Lane and South Range Avenue on-ramps for eastbound traffic, will be installed after widening projects are finished on I-12 next year.
The meters are active on I-12 westbound from 6 a.m. until 10 a.m. for the morning commute and on I-12 eastbound between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. for the evening commute.
They are also activated for special events or incidents that trigger increases in traffic, according to the department.
Lights on the meters force vehicles to proceed one at a time along entrance ramps at roughly four-second intervals.
Officials who monitor traffic flow are supposed to turn them off if traffic backs up on feeder roads.
Crashes in the past year for morning traffic on I-12 westbound dropped from an average of 73 at the merge point before the ramp meters were installed to an average of 61 afterwards, according to Lauren Lee, a public information officer for DOTD.
On eastbound I-12, during the afternoon rush, accidents dropped from an average of 162 before the ramp meters went up to an average of 150 now, the agency said.
Stephen Glascock, a DOTD official, said last year that research showed that ramp meters could trim accidents on the interstate by 30 percent.
LeBas said other data shows the meters have trimmed travel time by 17 percent.
Specific time changes were not available.
LeBas also said a study is under way to determine whether ramp meters make sense on I-10 here and on I-10 in New Orleans.
When that review will be complete is unclear.
The 14 ramp meters along I-12 cost about $1 million.
State officials said last year that most of the feedback from motorists was positive.
However, they acknowledged that there have been complaints from motorists, especially from the O’Neal Lane and Millerville Road areas.
In some cases, officials said, motorists blamed the meters for delays actually triggered by widening work on I-12.
Ramp meters are common in other states but the ones on I-12 are the first of their kind in Louisiana.
The section of I-12 that got the meters is part of a corridor between Baton Rouge and Hammond where 10 people died in traffic accidents over a three-month period in 2007.