Traffic flow in Baton Rouge is about to take another step toward improvement.The 22nd project within The Green Light Plan, a transportation program to improve roadway infrastructure and citizen safety throughout East Baton Rouge Parish, will add six turning lanes to the intersection of Perkins Road t Stanford Avenue and Acadian Thruway. The new lanes include a new right-turn lane and an additional left-turn lane to the southbound Acadian Thruway and westbound Perkins Road, a new right-turn lane to the northbound Stanford Avenue and an additional left-turn lane to the eastbound Perkins Road.Mayor-President Melvin “Kip” Holden, District 12 Councilman Rodney “Smokie” Bourgeois and District 10 Councilwoman Tara Wicker announced the plans Thursday.”This project was designed as a direct response to alleviating current bottlenecks and areas prone to traffic congestion while preparing our key roadways and intersections for future growth,” Holden said.Holden said the Perkins at Stanford and Acadian intersection is one of the most widely used entrances to the University’s campus.The project will also provide push-button pedestrian crosswalks and handicapped ramps at each corner.”By the year 2030, this intersection is projected to have an average daily traffic count of [more than] 75,000 [vehicles] … [which is] a projected increase of 30,000 vehicles per day from today’s current volume,” Holden said.The construction, which will begin at the end of November, will cost $2.4 million and is anticipated to be completed in May 2010.Holden said lane closures necessary to construction on Perkins at Stanford and Acadian will be limited to nighttime and off-peak hours.John Snow, spokesman for The Green Light Plan, said the money for this project will be funded by a series of bonds, which are backed by a 2005 half-cent sales tax.Baton Rouge Police Chief Jeff Leduff said the current congestion at this intersection affects the response times of his department, and The Green Light Plan’s improvements will help with that issue and the congestion seen after LSU football games.
Holden said seven projects within The Green Light Plan are complete with another 14 under construction. He said last week marked the midpoint in the plan.The Green Light Plan has improved traffic-congested areas such as Burbank Drive at North Harrell’s Ferry Road, Burbank Drive from West Lee Drive to Bluebonnet Boulevard, Coursey Boulevard at Sherwood Forest Boulevard, Foster Drive at Government Street and the Veterans Memorial Boulevard Extension.Current projects include the construction on Brightside Drive.- – – -Contact Mary Walker Baus at [email protected]