Livingston council opposes proposed routes for BR loop
LIVINGSTON — The newly seated Livingston Parish Council unanimously adopted a resolution opposing all proposed Baton Rouge loop routes through Livingston Parish.
Livingston’s new parish president, Layton Ricks, said he’s also opposed to the loop.
“The loop does nothing for the parish,” while hurting some economic development prospects, Councilman Jim Norred said in proposing the resolution during Thursday night’s council meeting.
Instead of building a loop, officials should look at better alternatives such as extending Hooper Road, Juban Road and Lockhart Road, he said.
A loop would hurt the sprawling residential/retail Juban Crossing complex, which is being developed at the Juban Road interchange, by taking travelers off Interstate 12, Norred said.
It also would potentially harm business in Denham Springs at the Bass Pro shopping center, which benefits from I-12 traffic, he said.
The proposed routes would uproot schools, graveyards, churches, subdivisions and recreation areas, he said.
One of the routes runs near the construction site of the future Live Oak High School and another goes through several subdivisions, a church and a new ball park, he said.
Routes to the south would also be disruptive, said Councilwoman Sonya Collins.
Officials involved in planning the loop have maintained that the currently proposed routes are wide marks that wouldn’t necessarily displace everything in their path because the eventual roadway would be much narrower.
The loop was first envisioned as a $4.5 billion, 85-mile roadway circling through East Baton Rouge, Livingston, West Baton Rouge, Iberville and Ascension parishes. It was touted as a means of reducing traffic on interstates 10 and 12 as well as a spur to economic development.
The project has run into opposition in some areas, but Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden says it is still alive. He has focused on developing the loop in East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes.
The project’s team has continued working on the environmental impact statement for the loop, which its backers envision would be built and operated under a public-private partnership arrangement.