Hooper Rd. Extension Coming Together

    The Hooper Rd extension across the Amite River into Livingston Parish is becoming a reality. It has been assigned as State Project No. H.005403, and a Project Initiation Meeting for the Stage 1 – Environmental Assessment process was held last Thursday, May 31, 2012 at DOTD headquarters. Twenty-nine persons attended the meeting including Central Mayor Mac Watts, Metro Councilman Scott Wilson, and Central Chief Administrative Officer David Barrow, as well as 15 representatives from various DOTD departments, federal agencies, and consultants performing the assessment.

    Two routes have been chosen for the project and maps were presented showing each proposed route. Hooper Rd will be extended across the Amite River starting at the intersection at Greenwell Springs Rd going east across the river into Livingston Parish, then turning north to avoid residential neighborhoods. The roadway will then travel on the north side of the dead-end of Jim Rushing Rd, cross Hwy 1020 (Bend Rd), and end at Hwy 16. The difference in the two routes is the ending points on Hwy 16. One map shows the extension ending in a t-intersection about a half-mile north of the Hwy 16/Hwy1019 intersection, while the other route shows the extension ending near the Hwy 16/Hwy 1019 intersection and connecting directly to Hwy 1019 near the old Live Oak High School.

    N-Y Associates, Inc. has been selected by the state to perform the State 1 – Environmental Assessment (E.A.) process. They were issued a notice to proceed in May 2012 and must have the E.A. completed by May 17, 2013. As part of the E.A. process, a public meeting will take place on this proposed project sometime this fall. As proposed, the state roadway would have a right of way of 180 feet and would be a 4-lane roadway with a median, similar to what you see on Greenwell Springs Rd or on Hooper Rd as you enter Central crossing over the Comite River.

    One of the deciding factors in this project will be to determine whether or not this should be a toll road with controlled access. If the state decides to make this a toll road, then there would be no direct connecting access points along the extension, and an overpass would be built over Hwy 1020. If the state decides to make it a non-toll road, then there could possibly be an intersection at Hwy 1020 and other driveways connecting to the extension.

    As part of the Environmental Assessment process, there will be a Line and Grade Study performed to review the alignment, alternatives, and details. The Environmental Assessment will be performed, along with a detailed Traffic Study and Analysis to accompany the preliminary Traffic Study that was performed last year. The bridge design, plans, and profile sheets will also be considered. Once all these various studies and designs are performed, the Final E.A. report will be issued. DOTD traffic engineers recommend that the roadway be designed for 55 mph.

    This project also includes the recommendation to widen Hooper Rd (LA408) from Sullivan Rd to Greenwell Springs Rd to four lanes with a median.