Students flocking back to Baton Rouge for the summer semester may be met with slight traffic congestion resulting from the closure of the intersection of Highland Road and Staring Lane.The intersection was closed June 1 for the installation of sewer drains running underneath the road. The work is expected to be complete June 15.The project is part of the work to extend Staring Lane to Burbank Drive, which is one piece of the Green Light Plan, a 42-project endeavor to improve Baton Rouge roadways, said Kimberlie Wessman, Green Light Plan spokeswoman. The extension of Staring will open the flow of traffic in that area, Wessman said.”It will provide a new corridor from Burbank all the way to Highland,” Wessman said. “You will be able to travel from Perkins Road to Burbank Drive  on Staring.” Only the intersection is closed, and businesses will be accessible, said John Snow, spokesperson for the Green Light Plan.”You will be able to access all businesses leading up on each leg of the intersection,” Snow said. Several detour routes have been outlined for motorists to avoid the site of the closure. Drivers are advised to use streets like Burbank, Perkins and Bluebonnet to navigate around the area.Snow said Green Light Plan organizers have been working to alert drivers about the closure so they can take detours before getting stuck in traffic.”The whole idea is to try and get the word out so that motorists are informed prior to getting close to any part of the intersection where it’s closed,” he said. Because of the availability of detours, Snow said he expects the impact of the closure to be minimal, partly because fewer students are in town during the summer.”Because it’s the summer session, there will be fewer students out and about, and the primary concentration of students is closer to campus,” he said. The Green Light Plan was initiated by Mayor-President Kip Holden and approved by voters in 2005, Snow said. “The program is creating more efficient roadways, more interconnectivity amongst roadways, wider roadways and more options for motorists to use to get to work and home quickly, safely and efficiently,” Snow said.–Contact Ryan Buxton at [email protected]