Closures on River Road could cause problems for travelers to the University during the next four months, especially those attending the last home football game of the season.
River Road, or Highway 327, will be closed south of Brightside Drive from Trinity Lane to Ben Hur Road.
A University broadcast e-mail said repairs to the levee at Duncan Point could affect those who rely on River Road when driving to and from the University. The levee is being repaired after the Mississippi River flood caused damage to it earlier this year.
The closure has prompted a change in game day traffic procedures, which went into effect for Saturday’s game against Western Kentucky and will extend to the final home game against the University of Arkansas on Nov. 25.
Southbound traffic on River Road will be diverted to Brightside Drive after games. The e-mail also said Gourrier Avenue will not be accessible from River Road. Vehicles parked in the Hayfield Lot will be forced to exit via Gourrier Avenue to Nicholson Road.
All other post-game procedures will not be affected by the closure. Any drivers using River Road when traveling to the University should prepare to take alternate routes and be ready for possible delays, according to the e-mail.
Students living in residential areas near the closure should not have problems accessing their homes, said Brittany Johnson, office coordinator at Aspen Heights.
Johnson said the closure begins past entrances to Aspen Heights and other student-populated neighborhoods.
“Road closed” signs do appear on River Road in front of the housing community, but the signs serve as a warning for the closure farther down the road, she said.
The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers is responsible for the levee repairs, which are estimated to cost nearly $9 million.
The e-mail said an August 2011 survey of flood damages determined Duncan Point as the area in most need of repair.
The project will include construction of a seepage berm, a stretch of land that assists the levee in deterring flooding.
The Mississippi River’s water level became dangerously high in the East Baton Rouge area in May.
Officials with the New Orleans Mississippi River and Tributaries System said the area requires immediate attention because it has the most potential for loss of lives and damage to property if a similar catastrophe would occur.
 
____
Contact Brian Sibille at [email protected]