Central residents object to part of proposed loop
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CENTRAL — City residents turned out Monday to register their opposition to having the northern leg of the proposed Baton Rouge loop run through their community.
“If you want a loop, you need to put it in the country, not in the city,” said Adam Loup, pointing to one of the large maps on display at Monday’s public hearing.
Loup said he would have preferred to see the loop follow the northernmost route that would have cut primarily through rural areas. However, loop engineers eliminated that corridor claiming it wouldn’t generate enough tolls or do enough to relieve traffic congestion.
“If they would four-lane Hooper (Road), four-lane Wax (Road) and build a new bridge over the Amite (River), we wouldn’t need a loop,” Loup said.
Among those protesting the latest corridor through Central was Mayor Pro Tem Joe Greco, who said the proposed route runs within two blocks of his home.
“I hate to be negative on something like this, but when it runs that close to my backyard, it hits close to home,” Greco said.
Mike Bruce, managing principal of ABMB Engineers which is helping to coordinate the loop planning effort, said the opposition to the loop in Central is not nearly as strong as it was before it was moved south to avoid much of existing development.
At this point, the only other corridor under consideration for a northern loop route is one that runs through Denham Springs, across a new bridge over the Amite River, down Florida Boulevard and then north along Airline Highway to a proposed new Mississippi River bridge.
Bruce said the proposal would involve building an elevated toll road in the median of Florida Boulevard and Airline Highway.
One of the problems with the Florida Boulevard option is that it’s very close to Interstate 12, and building a loop there probably wouldn’t attract as much outside traffic as the route through Central.
The $4 billion loop would run an estimated 90 to 100 miles around Baton Route and could be completed within 10 years, Bruce said.
The latest round of hearings was set up to get public feedback so additional changes can be made, Bruce said.
Other hearings, which all run from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., include:
- Today: Gonzales Civic Center, 219 S. Irma Drive.
- Wednesday: North Park Recreation Center, 30372 Eden Church Road, Denham Springs.
- Thursday: Port Allen Community Center, 749 N. Jefferson Ave.
- Monday, March 3: Plaquemine Civic Center, 24700 J. Gerald Beret Blvd.
