Gov't
Central Thruway Update
By |
From the City of Central
Last Friday, March 8, 2013, construction crews on the Central Thruway project diverted traffic onto the new detour bridge on Greenwell Springs Rd over Beaver Bayou. This is part of the intersection widening project at Greenwell Springs Rd and the Central Thruway. Crews will soon be dismantling the old bridge on Greenwell Springs Rd and replacing it with a new 5-lane wide bridge.
The actual intersection work at Greenwell Springs Rd and the Central Thruway, including the tie-in and alignment to Sullivan Rd, is scheduled for completion in September 2013. When the project is completed, there will be two thru-lanes eastbound and westbound on Greenwell Springs Rd along with double left-turn lanes to turn onto Central Thruway. There will also be a westbound right turn lane construction on Greenwell Springs Rd to turn onto Central Thruway northbound. The Central Thruway will have two thru-lanes northbound and southbound, along with dedicated left turn lanes to turn onto Greenwell Springs Rd, as well as dedicated right turn lanes. A traffic signal will control the intersection traffic.
Also, the signal at Greenwell Springs Rd and Sullivan Rd will be removed shortly after the Central Thruway is opened, and traffic southbound on Sullivan Rd will not be allowed to turn left onto Greenwell Springs Rd. Traffic wishing to turn left onto Greenwell Springs Rd will use the Central Thruway intersection.
City-Parish officials stated last week that once the Central Thruway is open, Frenchtown Rd will be closed between the Central Thruway and Chaumont Ave for approximately 9 to 12 months for replacement of the Beaver Bayou bridge near Geo-Je’s subdivision. The roadway north of the bridge, as well as the new bridge, will be elevated approximately 7 feet so that the roadway will not be impassable during high water events.
Residents of Geo-Je’s will still be able to get in and out of their subdivision, but they will have to go south on Frenchtown Rd. City-Parish officials have stated that they are anticipating using the gravel construction road south of Country Rd as a detour road for residents in the area. This gravel road was used as a construction road when the Central Thruway was under construction. This gravel road now connects Frenchtown Rd to the Central Thruway. City-Parish officials said some improvements to the gravel road will be necessary to handle the detour traffic.
David Barrow, Chief Administrative Officer for the city of Central, stated that once the Central Thruway is open, traffic calming methods will be considered along Frenchtown Rd between Greenwell Springs Rd and the Central Thruway to deter cut-through traffic and speeding.
0 comments