Proposed traffic loop discussed
The latest round of public hearings for a proposed traffic loop around Baton Rouge traffic kicked off on Monday in East Baton Rouge Parish with a strong showing from Central residents who said they are concerned about the expressway cutting through their city.
More than 40 people attended the meeting at BREC headquarters on Florida Boulevard to talk directly with engineers about the scope and placement of the proposed 85-mile roadway circling the capital region. It would be built and operated as a toll road under a “public-private partnership” similar to toll roads in several Texas cities.
The loop would cut through five parishes: East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Iberville, Ascension and Livingston.
In East Baton Rouge, there are two proposed routes - one that cuts through the middle of Central and one that crosses the less populated northern part of Central.
Ron Francis, the president of the Hampton Village Estates civic association, said the loop could cut through the northwest corner of his subdivision, which is located off Joor Road.
“I’m a property owner, so my biggest fear is that this impacts my home value, that it impacts my family and what I’m used to,” Francis said. “I’m concerned about noise and increased traffic.”
But Francis said he was torn, because he also wants to see Baton Rouge’s economy prosper and traffic conditions improve.
“I’m just like everyone banging on a steering wheel saying ‘Goodness gracious, fix the problem.’ We all want the problem fixed, but just not in my backyard,” he said, noting the irony of his wishes.
The public is being invited to attend hearings to talk with experts and also to submit written feedback that will be a part of the Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement, required by the Federal Highway Administration for consideration of the legal permit to move forward with the project.
Mike Bruce, the managing principal of ABMB, one of the lead firms on the loop, said public feedback would be one of several elements federal highway officials will consider when the project comes up for approval. The feedback can also affect which routes ultimately will be selected, he said.
Wayne Messina, a Central City councilman who attended the meeting, said he can count on one hand the number of loop supporters he’s heard from in Central.
“It’s going to cut Central right slap dab in half,” he said.
Messina said he wishes proponents of the loop would consider other traffic congestion remedies like forcing 18-wheel trucks to drive in the right lane and at reduced speeds to curb large vehicle wrecks.
Messina was also skeptical of how effective the loop would be in reducing traffic congestion, pointing to neighboring Houston, which has its own loop.
“I don’t know if anyone on this committee has driven through Houston around 3 o’clock, 4 o’clock in the afternoon, but I don’t see where the loop has relieved any congestion at all,” he said.
Bruce acknowledged that the loop would not be a fix-all for Baton Rouge’s traffic problems, but said it will provide significant relief.
“If you don’t take some pressure off, the economy gets strangled,” he said.
Wade Giles, president of the Central Economic Development Foundation, said he’s part of the silent majority who support the loop in Central.
He said there would be much more support if there wasn’t so much misinformation about the loop being spread by its opponents.
“You say loop, and it’s a four-letter word now,” he said. “They hear this misinformation and believe it, and now any politician looking for a vote, can’t be for it. So they have to be against it or they don’t get elected.”
But Central residents weren’t the only ones interested in the $4.5 billion dollar expressway.
Doug Daigle, who lives on Jones Creek Road, said he’s concerned about the financial burden the loop could create for the city-parish and the state.
“The amount of resources that would be put into it would close other options the city-parish really needs, like more public transportation,” he said. “It’s estimated to cost $4.5 billion, and it’s reasonable to assume it will cost more.”
Daigle also said he’s skeptical about plans to pay for the loop with toll money.
Bruce has said the loop is expected to be paid for by way of private investors who would reap profits from a toll.
“What if the toll did not reach the projected levels? Then who makes up the different? We do,” Daigle said.
In other similar projects around the country with private investors, Bruce said, it’s common to include a contractual clause requiring the local, state or federal government to provide the difference for the lack of funds.
But he said it’s rare that the tolls fall short of projections.
“The goal is to be very conservative with those projections and make sure we don’t put the public at risk,” he said.
Public hearings will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday in Ascension and Iberville.
In Ascension, the meeting will be at Pecan Grove Primary School, and in Iberville, the meeting will be held at St. John the Evangelist School.
On Wednesday, meetings will be held in West Baton Rouge and Livingston Parish at the Port Allen Community Center and the Denham Springs High School.
People can also go to http://www.BRLoop.com and print out a comment card to mail in to be included in the impact statement.