Lafayette Sierra Club

Airport Angles and Increased Risk

Cauchemar Media — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 19:05:36 +0000

Airport Angles and Increased Risk

Mike Waldon

SUMMARY: Because this is an unusually long post, you may wish to skip first to the SUMMARY at the end of this post before reading the entire post.

A LOT has been written on the topic of “things you just should never do.” One of these “never do” actions is to build tall structures next to your airport. This is precisely the DOTD plan for extending I-49 through Lafayette.

In an earlier post I talked in general about the problems associated with the Connector plans relative to the Lafayette Airport. In this post. I want to get down to specifics.

Figure 1. Google Earth image of the northwest end of runway 11-29 in relation to the intersection of Evangeline Thruway, University Ave, and Surrey St.

Federal safety guidance defines the maximum height that objects should not exceed in the vicinity of airports. This definition is based on a number of imaginary surfaces through which no objects sitting on the ground should penetrate. Keeping aircraft above the imaginary surfaces, and all terrestrial objects below, provides for safe landings and takeoffs.

The lowest of these imaginary surfaces, the primary surface, is a rectangle at the elevation of the runway. The primary surface extends 200 feet beyond each end of the runway and 500 feet on each side of the runway centerline. Beyond each end of the primary surface there is an approach surface. The approach surface begins at the primary surface elevation and rises, for runway 11-29, at a slope of 34:1 (termed a 3% slope). That is, for every 34 feet of center-line distance the surface rises 1 foot. At their intersection, the width of the approach surface is the same as the primary surface, 1000 feet, and is centered on the runway center-line. The approach surface widens to 4000 feet at 10,000 feet ground distance from the primary surface. That is, the approach surface width is 1000+0.3x, where x is the ground distance along the center-line away from the primary surface. There are other defined surfaces (transitional surface, horizontal surface, conical surface), but only the primary and approach surfaces are relevant to the issue of runway displacement for 11-29.

The 2002 Final EIS asserts in numerous locations that the Lafayette Regional Airport runway 11-29 will need to be displaced 350 feet to the southeast toward Bayou Tortue and Cypress Island Swamp from its present location to meet minimum federal safety requirements for an approach surface slope of 34:1 and a 17 foot margin of safety (FEIS exhibit 4-4). While the FEIS makes the assertion that the 350 foot displacement is required, it does not show the underlying data or rationale needed to support the claim. I have therefore been forced to attempt to recreate these calculations. My calculations, however, do not agree with the conclusion in the FEIS. Lacking documentation of the FEIS methods, I conclude that the 350 foot assertion is likely in error.

A history and general information about the Lafayette Regional airport may be found in the Wikipedia article titled “Lafayette Regional Airport.” Additional information on the airportAirNav.com. That web page also includes a link to a useful Airport Diagram. The diagram shows that runway 11-29 is 5401 feet long and 148 feet wide. Elevation at the northeastern end (designated 11) is 37 feet; elevation at the southeastern end (designated 29) is 35 feet.

Figure 1 is an image captured from Google Earth of the northwest end (designation 11) of runway 11-29. It illustrates that the runway does end quite close to the current highway. Measurement shows that the runway currently ends roughly 600 feet from Evangeline Thruway (Hwy 90), and roughly 700 feet from the intersection of the Evangeline Thruway, Surrey St, and University Ave.

Figure 2. This image is extracted from the FEIS Plate 2a2. North in this figure is to the right, and distance along the horizontal extent of the roadway in hundreds of feet is given on the horizontal axis; elevation in feet (NGVD 29 datum) is plotted on the vertical axis. The roadway is charted as the solid black line. The 40 foot elevation is highlighted by a dotted red line. Peak roadway height at the interchange is estimated to be 45 feet.

Finally, it is necessary to estimate the height of objects above the roadway. This could include signs, streetlights, and aircraft warning lights. The FEIS does mention this, and suggests that special signage and lighting may be necessary. Thus, I will assume that the height of the vehicles on the roadway will be the tallest objects above the roadway. There is no Federal vehicle height requirement for commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). Most eastern states, including Louisiana, set a CMV height limit of 13.5 feet on most highways. Louisiana does allow heights of 14 feet on designated highways, and oversize permits can be routinely issued for heights up to 16 feet 5 inches. Without specific guidance from the Louisiana DOTD, it is unclear what height should be assumed. Here, I will simply assume a maximum height of 15 feet for all vehicles and objects on the roadway.

Assuming the peak height at the interchange structure controls the required runway displacement, the calculation of length for the approach surface is now straightforward. The interchange height plus object height has an elevation of 60 feet (45+15). Adding the FAA 17 foot margin of safety gives a total elevation of 77 feet. Subtracting the runway height which defines the primary surface elevation then gives a height of 40 feet (77-37). At a slope of 34:1, the length of the approach surface to the primary surface is 1,360 feet (34×40). At this point along the approach surface, the approach surface width is 1408 feet (1000 + 0.3×1,360), or 704 feet on each side of the extended runway center-line (Figure 3). Adding the 200 foot width of the primary surface at the end of the runway gives a total distance form the peak of the interchange of 1,560 feet. The present distance is estimated to be 700 feet, so the total runway displacement required would be 860 feet (Figure 4). This is 510 feet longer than the value asserted in the FEIS. This difference significantly brings into question the economic, environmental, and engineering feasibility of the displacement.

Figure 3. The more northern half of the new approach surface (black outlined trapezoid) begins with a width which is 500 feet on either side of the extended runway centerline, and 200 feet beyond the new runway end (orange line). The distance to the centerline extends to 704 feet at the proposed elevated interchange.

The calculated extension will require very roughly the destruction of 45 acres of the Cypress Island Swamp west of the airport (Figure 4), and more if embankments in the swamp must be longer than existing embankments. This considerably exceeds the 5 acres estimated in the FEIS (p 4-92).

(a)

(b)
Figure 4. The upper figure (a) shows the current airport runway at the southeast end of runway 11-29. The lower figure (b) is the same image with an 860 foot length of runway and associated area is copied onto the current end of the runway. The original image was printed from Google Earth.

Construction would require significant fill, and consolidation of the underlying wetland soil will further aggravate the existing problems of soil stability at this end of runway 11-29. The FEIS on page 2-10 states that “a prior runway extension of about 200′ constructed in 1967 has subsided up to approximately four feet and has been removed from service.” This fill will encounter even greater engineering challenges.

The new extension into the swamp will need to deal with a very significant drop in elevation (Figure 5). As much as 35 feet of fill will be required for the extension. If earthen embankments are used at the sides of the filled area, considerably more than the estimated 35 acre area of wetland may be required in order to accommodate the more extensive embankment areas.

(a)

(b)
Figure 5. In (a), the center line of the runway (red line) is extended at the southwest end of runway 11-29. The green bar indicates 860 feet from the end of the center line, and the thin white lie crossing the center line is 860 feet from the runway end. Figure (b) graphs elevation along the center line from 39 ft to 4 ft.

Options: What are our options? They include:

The No Build alternative should always be considered. If the currently planned I-49 Connector project is abandoned, it could be replaced by upgrades to the current Evangeline Thruway, and bypass to the east along the Teche-Ridge, west using the LRX alignment, or both to form an urban loop.
Build the connector project as decided in the FEIS and ROD, and extend runway 11-29 as required to meet minimum FAA guidelines. This will require land acquisition and a Corps of Engineers wetland permit. Likely this alternative will further require wetland mitigation and flood mitigation.
Build the connector project as decided in the FEIS and ROD, and request an FAA exemption from airport approach obstacle safety requirements.
Abandon use of runway 11-29.
Revise the design in of the selected alternative to eliminate roadway elevation in the vicinity of the 11-29 runway approach surface.

SUMMARY: The I-49 Connector FEIS identified unacceptable risk due to failure to meet FAA flight path obstruction guidance, resulting from the proposed interchange construction adjacent to the Lafayette Regional Airport. Without documenting calculations or rationale, the FEIS stated that in order to meet these minimum safety requirements, airport runway 11-29 would need to be displaced 350 feet southeast toward Bayou Tortue and the Cypress Island Swamp.

My calculations, based on FAA guidance, arrive at runway displacement considerably longer than that presented in the FEIS. Here, following FAA guidance, I calculated that the required displacement is 860 feet. This significant difference brings into question the economic, environmental, and engineering feasibility of the displacement. Impact of this displacement on flooding, wildlife, and wetlands should be carefully addressed and documented by DOTD.

The public attitude toward airport safety should always be conservative and circumspect. The Airport’s 1975 Master Plan concludes “Conditions at the airport’s periphery make expansion of its land area difficult or expensive or both.” Even beyond the impacts of runway displacement discussed above, it is simply inappropriate to choose to construct any tall structures on the periphery of our airport which is already severely constrained at its location. Tall structures like the University and Kaliste Saloom interchanges constrain future airport runway alignment adjustments, and impact the ability to meet current requirements and future safety requirements should FAA guidance on safety margins or approach slopes change for any reason.

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Conversation with Mike Waldon and Harold Schoeffler

Cauchemar Media — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 18:56:55 +0000

The post Conversation with Mike Waldon and Harold Schoeffler appeared first on Lafayette Sierra Club.

Proposed toll road loop around Lafayette ‘back on front burner’

Cauchemar Media — Sun, 26 Jun 2016 19:39:08 +0000

Proposed toll road loop around Lafayette ‘back on front burner’

RICHARD BURGESS| RBURGESS@THEADVOCATE.COM

June 25, 2016; 4:50 p.m.

1 Comments

The Lafayette Metropolitan Expressway Commission is preparing to refocus on one of the more ambitious infrastructure proposals in Lafayette’s history, a toll road loop around the city.

The loop proposal isn’t new, but it’s been roughly five years since any significant public discussion of the project, and it likely has faded from memory for many residents.

The commission paused planning for the bypass so as not to compete for attention with the proposed Interstate 49 Connector, a six-lane interstate that would roughly follow the path of the Evangeline Thruway.

The state Department of Transportation and Development revised work on the Connector last year, and now the expressway commission hopes to get back on task.

“We decided we are going to put it back on the front burner,” said longtime commission member Elaine Abell. “We can get back to what we were going to do.”

The commission plans to host public hearings this fall to begin narrowing possible routes for what’s being called the Lafayette Regional Xpressway, or the LRX.

The general idea is for the road to connect with Interstate 49 north of Lafayette, then swing southwest, crossing Interstate 10 in the Duson/Scott area and heading south a bit before curving back east to connect with U.S. 90 south of Lafayette.

The commission is exploring two alternative corridors for the northern section of the road and three for the south.

“All of these combinations are on the table,” said Kam Movassaghi, a former DOTD secretary who is working as a consultant for the expressway commission.

The meetings this fall will give residents a chance to say if they support the project and, if so, what route they favor.

The comments will be used to prepare a Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement, which is a preliminary study of how the different alternatives impact existing residential and commercial developments, traffic, wildlife, waterways, wetlands and historic areas, among other things.

It is the first step in a three-tiered analysis to vet and narrow the alternatives until a final route is chosen.

The entire process is expected to take from four to five years and, assuming everything goes as planned, will result in a Record of Decision — a formal OK from the federal government that is required to seek federal funding for the project.

The specifics of how much the road might cost and where the money will come from to pay for it still are unknown.

The price tag depends largely on the length of the road and the number of interchanges, both of which are still in play.

Under the alternative routes being considered, the bypass could range from 27 miles to 36 miles. Preliminary cost estimates done in 2009 put the price between $1 billion and $1.3 billion.

That estimate is for the entire bypass, but the commission could tackle it in phases.

Abell said it is unlikely the road will be built without tolls.

“The state doesn’t have any money. I don’t see us waiting on that,” she said.

Tolls are not expected to generate enough revenue to cover all the construction costs — studies are pending to determine how much — and the commission is looking at options for federal grants and loans, state money and private funds.

Movassaghi said toll revenue rarely brings in enough cash to completely finance a new road.

“This project will not be any different,” he said.

There has long been talk of a bypass around Lafayette, and formal planning for the road began in 2003, when the state Legislature created the Lafayette Metropolitan Expressway Commission, which is tasked with planning, financing, building and maintaining the road.

The project is still years from becoming a reality, but it is far beyond the idea stage.

Before the commission stood down a few years ago in deference to I-49, there had been a series of preliminary studies to identify possible routes, to determine if toll financing was feasible and to identify interchange locations.

Movassaghi said there still is concern about pushing forward with the bypass project while DOTD is working on the I-49 Connector, not because the projects are competitors but because opponents of building an interstate through Lafayette might look to the bypass as an alternative to keep the interstate out of the city.

“This project is by no means an alternative to the connector project,” Movassaghi said. “This is just an add on.”

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Business community worries Connector dream is dying

Cauchemar Media — Sat, 18 Jun 2016 14:50:47 +0000

INDREPORTER

June 16, 2016 02:55 PM

Business community worries Connector dream is dying

Worse yet, some think it’s already dead.

BY CHRISTIAAN MADER

One Acadiana’s Jason El Koubi

Photo by Marie Constantin

Longtime supporters of the I-49 Connector are anguished by yesterday’s announcement that state transportation officials have reopened environmental studies on the controversial project. In a statement issued this morning, One Acadiana CEO Jason El Koubi sums up the essential fear that’s taken hold among Lafayette’s corporate old guard — that a supplemental environmental impact statement will delay the project to the point of killing it.

“We are working with state and local officials to assess in greater detail how the supplemental EIS process will impact the I-49 Lafayette Connector project,” El-Koubi says in the statement. “But it’s already clear that it will further delay urgent investments in our community and provide more opportunities for a vocal minority to kill this important project.”

Reportedly, reopening the EIS is the original fear for the project’s founding cheerleaders. Mystery surrounding interaction between the supplemental studies and the ongoing 18-month design process begun last October will only serve to rattle them more. The supplemental studies are tentatively scheduled for completion in 2018.

The Connector’s founding documents, 2002’s EIS and 2003’s Record of Decision (which affirms the location, outline and primary features of the Connector), withstood heavy opposition from many of the same faces that now dog the latest attempt at moving the project to construction. El Koubi’s statement most certainly references the vocal opposition raised by members of the Acadiana Group of the Sierra Club, doing protest as Y49 since last December.

Harold Schoeffler, the agitator-in-chief for the Connector’s opposition, shepherded a lawsuit against the Federal Highway Administration to the Third Circuit Court of Appeal back in 2003, looking to invalidate the Record of Decision. The appellate court ruled in favor of the FHWA, effectively coating the document and the project in legal Kevlar, so long as the project adhered to the script established by the ROD.

Therein lies the problem. Supporters fear that opening the EIS in pursuit of a supplemental ROD discards the legal protection enjoyed by the process thus far. By law, the current conceptual design process will be folded into the supplemental studies process with a different set of federal regulations and rules set in place. Arguably that means Connector opponents have more formalized means of opposition to the project, and could once again bring suit against the FHWA. On that view, DOTD has just done Schoeffler’s work for him.

Whether that comes to pass could be contingent on the scope of the supplemental studies, and the resulting design. By federal regulations established in the National Environmental Protection Act, DOTD is not required to reopen every aspect of the original environmental study. At present, DOTD has not released the specifics of the additional study, but it surely has something to do with the myriad design modifications that have arisen in the ongoing conceptual design process.

An email from DOTD to members of the Community Working Group, one of three design committees working on the project, notes that part of the process will include a “Right-of-Way Acquisition and Relocation Plan.” A design idea, controversially stemming from charrettes hosted by Lafayette Consolidated Government, suggested a mainline shifted slightly eastward of the preliminary alignment and buried through portions of Lafayette’s urban core. The idea piggy-backed on similar so-called “cut and cover” concepts floated in the DOTD-sanctioned process and gained some energetic support among CWG members and city officials. Certainly, a “relocation plan” could include further investigation of that study.

In refinement concept 6E, DOTD designers moved the alignment of the Connector’s mainline, one of the many ideas that may be further vetted in supplemental studies.

Photo courtesy lafayetteconnector.com

The media posture from DOTD doesn’t indicate much panic on the inside, even if its latest move has eroded faith in the project among die-hard supporters. For the time being, it doesn’t appear as though DOTD has any intention of backing away from the project. DOTD has re-scheduled committee meetings until August, at which point the design process is supposed to resume exactly where it was paused.

“DOTD will continue to work with our federal partners to ensure any significant or proposed changes since the original EIS are thoroughly vetted to identify and document any new positive or negative environmental impacts,” DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson said in a statement. “DOTD is not just committed to the completion of the I-49 Connector, we’re committed to getting it right on every level.”

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TWO PSYCHOLOGICAL PILLARS OF I-49 CONNECTOR SUPPORTERS – Vic Hummert

Cauchemar Media — Sun, 29 May 2016 15:34:44 +0000

TWO PSYCHOLOGICAL PILLARS OF I-49 CONNECTOR SUPPORTERS – Vic Hummert

Linguist Benjamin Whorf introduced the Whorfian Hypothesis, ” an undeniable principle stating “If we change our language, we will certainly change thinking of people.” Rather than sadly state “Mother died today,” children are more peaceful in announcing : “Mother has just entered fullness of life.”

Psychologist Kurt Lewin describes the” Approach – Avoidance syndrome” in which we draw near to a person or situation then impulsively reverse course at the point of contact.

*It is obvious proponents of the I-49 connector are glibly describing a route that will knife through the center of Lafayette as an aesthetic, economic boost to a city of 125,000. Nothing is said about elevated highways being removed in other cities globally, displacement of local homes, businesses or gross inconvenience to those once described by a Lafayette city official as living “on the wrong side of the railroad tracks.”

For decades residents of Lafayette have known about toxic wastes left by one major railroad. The owner of that negligent, irresponsible corporation is also CEO of Berkshire-Hathaway. The prominent financial wizard’s net worth in US dollars is over $63 billion. With the swish of his 85-year old wrist, an order could be given to clean up Lafayette’s toxic mess.

Nine Superfund sites already found in one of the poorest states of the union are draining money from tax payers. Should the prominent billionaire or Louisiana citizens be responsible for cleaning up known poison deposits adjacent to the proposed connector?

Vocal I-49 supporters cannot deny existence of the toxic mess, but will cleverly avoid any discussion of reality. Deflecting, ignoring any admission of threats to our aquifer is essential to the project’s survival. Whorf and Lewin are our professors.

“Recent polls” on the I-49 subject by citizens are presented with the presumption many residents do not know from where their water comes, nor to where it will flow as wastewater.

One high school student from St. Louis, MO made his private research of asking residents in any city he visited: *What is the population of your community? *What is the source of your drinking water? His unpublished research indicated the vast majority had feeble awareness about population, water sources or forthcoming international water wars. Colorado has seven water courts as thirty million people contend for drawing from the Colorado river.

The Vermillion river is not an alternative if I-49 harms the Chicot aquifer.

If impoverished Louisiana (#49) had water courts would the I-49 connector be permitted to continue?

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I-49 Lafayette Connector: How we got here

Cauchemar Media — Sat, 28 May 2016 19:21:21 +0000

I-49 Lafayette Connector: How we got here

Claire Taylor, ctaylor@theadvertiser.com7:36 a.m. CDT May 16, 2016

The Interstate 49 Connector through Lafayette will either be the best economic spark the city has seen in decades or the biggest mistake since the Evangeline Thruway cut the city in half.

People like Rusty Cloutier, CEO of Mid-South Bank, have been fighting 30 years to get I-49 South completed from Lafayette to New Orleans. It’s important, supporters like Cloutier say, for better hurricane evacuation, to alleviate traffic congestion in Lafayette and to spark economic development.

“Lafayette’s a great place to live but you’ve got to have jobs. Jobs come from roadways,” Cloutier said. “We’ve got no roads and we’re dying in the Lafayette area.”

Now that the 5.5-mile Connector project has been revived from a seven-year hiatus, proponents say it’s time for the community to get on board and move ahead with planning and design work, even though the $750 million needed to build the interstate between Lafayette Regional Airport and Interstate 10 has not been identified.

THE ADVERTISER

An overpass through downtown? Call it the I-49 South connector

Others say not so fast. Kate Durio, who represents The 705 young professionals organization on an I-49 committee, said too many questions are unanswered and the role of the public in the planning and design process isn’t clear.

The “old guard” pushing the project isn’t going to have to pay for it, Durio said. Her generation will.

“This plan is very expensive. I’m concerned about the fiscal responsibility our generation is going to have to take on to pay for this,” she said.

Starts and stops

As early as the 1960s, Evangeline Thruway was identified as a potential future interstate. It wasn’t until the 1990s that state and federal highway officials got serious about it and started work on an environmental impact study.

Two years later, when a Draft Environmental Impact Statement containing six possible routes for the I-49 Connector was revealed to the public, the outcry was so loud highway officials withdrew the plan and shut it down.

The Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce didn’t let the idea die, though. The chamber appointed a task force to generate interest in the proposal. The Lafayette Areawide Planning Commission and a design team of private and public sector professionals published in September 1993 the North/South Corridor Study, “Path to Progress,” that evaluated four potential routes for the interstate

The estimated construction cost listed in the report was $232 million to $524 million.

In December 1997, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development restarted the project and published a Draft EIS in November 2000.

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette Community Design Workshop program in the school of architecture, hired by Lafayette Consolidated Government, conducted public meetings and design exercises called charrettes with residents to find out what the community wants the project and surrounding property to look like.

The architecture students drew designs and built models based on how residents envisioned the I-49 Connector. The findings were published in what has become known as The Blue Book.

The Lafayette City-Parish Council in February 2001 selected the RR-4 route, the one still under consideration, and the Final EIS was published in August 2002. A Record of Decision giving the go-ahead to the project was issued in January 2003.

In 2004, a citizens coalition filed a federal lawsuit to halt the project based on issues like the impact to the environment and historic properties. They lost. Planning began but was put on hold again from 2008 until this year.

A new beginning

Around 200 people joined the DOTD celebrating the Oct. 7 relaunch of the I-49 Connector project in Lafayette.

Planners and designers are picking up where the process was suspended in 2008. Over the next 18 months, DOTD and consultants will work with community stakeholders to plan and design the project.

Three committees — a working community group, a technical advisory committee and an executive committee — are aiding in the planning and conceptual design of the project using a Context Sensitive Solutions process (CSS).

The committee members were selected by the Lafayette Connector Project CSS Team after consulting Lafayette Consolidated Government staff and councilmen, along with the Acadiana Planning Commission, One Acadiana (regional chamber of commerce), Downtown Development Authority, UL and DOTD, Deidra Druilhet, DOTD public information officer wrote in response to The Daily Advertiser’s questions. DOTD approved the final committee rosters.

The goal of the committees, Druilhet wrote, “is to achieve a project design that’s affordable, acceptable to all key stakeholders and has the potential to become a valued community asset.”

CSS is a collaborative approach that involves key stakeholders like community members, special interest groups and elected officials in planning and designing a highway that meets its purpose while complementing and even enhancing the area in and around it.

THE ADVERTISER

Grassroots effort growing to reconsider I-49 through Lafayette

At the end of 18 months, consultants will publish a CSS Design Standards Manual that will “directly inform the final design of the I-49 Lafayette Connector project and related improvements related to corridor aesthetic consistency, community integration and compliance with all stakeholder and community input,” according to the project website, lafayetteconnector.com.

DOTD and consultants say public input is part of the process. The project website states that UL will conduct Community Design Workshops for public input, although none have been scheduled.

Can it, will it be done right?

The three committees met last week for only the second time. They were given an overview of the project and process and shown a preliminary design of the Connector.

Some committee members expressed confusion and concern over their mission, the design they were shown and the level of ability to change the design of the I-49 Connector.

One of Durio’s unanswered questions is when will the public be able to comment and what aspects of the project can they address. The public is not allowed to speak or ask questions at committee meetings. They’re instructed to complete comment cards instead.

Durio’s not sure what role the community working group will play in the process. The 705 group that she represents is more than 300 members strong. They have a lot of questions about the Connector but most think it’s too late to change the project.

The DOTD, Federal Highway Administrations and project consultants from AECOM and Stantec have guidelines and performance measures in place to meet through the process, Durio said.

“This team has been assembled with a lot of money on the line to get this project built. That’s their motivation,” Durio said. “Looking through our history, the DOTD hasn’t been the shining example of going above and beyond, striving for excellence. It’s kind of let the public down.”

She’s concerned that the official team is more interested in providing the minimum, not the best possible scenario for the community.

The 705 formed an I-49 task force to track the project and keep its members informed.

John Arceneaux, a member of the community working group representing the Lafayette Public Trust Financing Authority, accompanied a small group of locals to New York this week where Stantec explained the CSS process used there and visited a few highway projects the company designed.

“What they showed us, I think they did a great job,” he said. “It doesn’t necessarily translate to the I-49 project. It’s not to the same scale or scope we’re trying to do.”

The I-49 Connector will be six to eight lanes wide and no higher than 22 feet. The New York projects aren’t nearly as wide and are much higher, Arceneaux said.

Another problem is originally the Connector was supposed to have 20-30 feet between the northbound and southbound elevated sections. Because of right of way issues, the space was narrowed to about 6 feet, which isn’t wide enough to let light in or plant trees in.

“I honestly would like to see how they’re going to mitigate this to something different than what we’re used to seeing like Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans and I-10 in Baton Rouge,” Arceneaux, said. “I can’t envision that amount of square footage being mitigated for that distance.”

THE ADVERTISER

From the Archives: Space between I-49 Connector spans narrowed

He understands the reasons for going through the CSS process to design the Connector as best as possible, but Arceneaux said he doesn’t see any way, under design limitations, to make it safe and attractive and avoid creating blight and further dividing north and south Lafayette.

“I feel that everybody involved wants to do the right thing. I still haven’t gotten the impression that they’re going to be able to,” he said.

Carlee Alm-LaBar, development director for Lafayette Consolidated Government, was on the New York trip this week, too. It was more about learning how the CSS process works and how the consultants consider each community’s geography, history and character in designing highways.

Additional public input is expected, she said. The UL Community Design Workshop is a subcontractor on the Stantec design team that will be conducting public hearings and building on the Blue Book.

“We have a lot of work to do as a community,” Alm-LaBar said. “This is going to be a long process, but I think there’s a lot of potential to do it right.”

Lafayette Consolidated Government received a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant for additional planning related to the I-49 Connector project. Negotiations are under way with Architects Southwest on the scope of work, she said.

The purpose of the grant is to create preliminary plans for improvements to road connectivity, alternate transit, economic development and items like public plazas and linear green space, Alm-LaBar said. Planners need to have a realistic conversation about how to fund those items, she said.

THE ADVERTISER

From the Archives: City eyes I-49’s impact

“The whole reason we were given that grant is to protect neighborhoods and make sure, if we’re going to have this kind of investment in the I-49 corridor, we’re going to make it excellent,” Alm-LaBar added. “We have a lot of work to do as a community. I think we can do it.”

Cloutier, who is one of the “old guard,” agreed. The space under and around the interstate through Lafayette doesn’t have to be blighted like Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans, Cloutier said. He points to places like Dallas, where parks were built under interstates, and on a smaller scale, the town of Berwick in St. Mary Parish, where a nice little park thrives under the U.S. 90 bridge.

“That’s what can be done all over if people want to put the effort into it,” he said. “We can build it right. We can make it a nice area for people to enjoy.”

THE ADVERTISER

Local I-49 committee members voice concern

THE ADVERTISER

From the Archives: I-49 Connector won’t close streets

I-49 SOUTH LAFAYETTE CONNECTOR TIMELINE

1968: Evangeline Thruway identified for possible upgrading to interstate standards.

1990: Federal Highway Administration and Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development begin location study and Environmental Impact Study of U.S. 90/Evangeline Thruway.

1992: Draft Environmental Impact Statement completed; 200 people oppose I-49 project at public hearing; DOTD ends further work.

1993: Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce convenes task force to increase interest in and to further study a north-south corridor through Lafayette. With Lafayette government leaders, the Lafayette North/South Corridor Study, “Path to Progress,” is completed in September offering four possible north-south routes.

1997: EIS restarted.

2000: Draft EIS published in November.

2001: Lafayette City-Parish Council in February endorses the RR-4 alignment for the I-49 Lafayette Connector.

2002: Final EIS published in August.

2003: Record of Decision issued in January with 21 commitment and mitigation items. Notes receipt of a petition with 2,000 signatures opposing interstate through the city.

2004: Concerned Citizens Coalition sues Federal Highway Administration in federal court to stop construction of elevated interstate through Lafayette. The FHWA wins.

2006-2008: Functional planning begins, interpreting EIS to create engineering drawings.

2008: Project is halted.

2015: Functional planning restarted in October.

Things to know about the I-49 Lafayette Connector:

The Connector is about 5.5 miles long. About 3.5 miles is elevated to various heights, most up to 22 feet.
Where it’s elevated, the Connector will be built as two separate bridges with minimal space, maybe 6-10 feet, between them. Each bridge will include 3-4 lanes, with shoulders in some places.
Three hundred buildings/properties will be taken, fewer than half of them residences.
I-49 Lafayette Connector begins at ground or “grade” level at existing U.S. 90 just south of Lafayette Regional Airport and Kaliste Saloom Road.
One-way frontage roads will be built on either side of the interstate in this area with slip ramps to enter the interstate.

A major interchange will be built at Kaliste Saloom Road so motorists can enter and exit the interstate from any direction.
I-49 will pass over University Avenue/Surrey Street. Because it’s elevated, a runway at the airport has to be moved per Federal Aviation Administration rules at no cost to the airport.

No impacts on Beaver Park. I-49 will remain in the current Evangeline Thruway right of way in this area.
The interstate will pass over Pinhook Road and include turnarounds. Additional right of way is needed.

Just past Pinhook Road, near Taft Street, I-49 will peel away from the existing Evangeline Thruway and travel towards the railroad tracks. Substantially more right of way is needed here.
The interstate goes to grade level (at or near ground level) between 7th and 8th streets and stays at grade level until somewhere between 5th Street and Jefferson Street.

I-49 will be elevated from Jefferson Street, past Sterling Grove historic neighborhood and Willow Street.
Johnston Street will be reconstructed several feet lower to go under I-49 and the railroad tracks. Part of Johnston Street will be moved and a curve will be eliminated.
Jefferson Street also will go under the interstate and railroad. Engineering constraints require Jefferson Street to remain depressed for a longer distance east of the railroad tracks than the current underpass.

Intersections at 2nd and 3rd streets will be relocated and depressed to travel under the interstate and railroad tracks. They will become a “single point urban interchange,” where all left turns are directed into one intersection.
Simcoe Street will be depressed about 2 feet.
The elevated Connector will pass through property now occupied by the Lafayette Convention and Visitors Center.

I-49 will pass over Willow Street.
Part of Evangeline Thruway will be moved to the west to build a ramp accessing I-49.
Castille Street will pass beneath the Connector and include turnaround lanes.
The Connector returns to ground level just before the existing I-10/I-49 interchange, around Ginger Street.
No changes will be made to the I-10/I-49 interchange, including the single-lane I-10 on-ramp, as part of this project.

The post I-49 Lafayette Connector: How we got here appeared first on Lafayette Sierra Club.

About Us

Cauchemar Media — Wed, 25 May 2016 23:36:59 +0000

About Us

Statement of Purpose

The mission of the Sierra Club is to explore, enjoy and protect the wild and beautiful places of the Earth; to practice and promote the responsible use of the Earth’s ecosystems and resources; to educate and enlist people to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives. The Sierra Club’s members and supporters are more than 1.3 million of your friends and neighbors. Inspired by nature, we work together to protect our communities and the planet. The Sierra Club is America’s oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization. The Sierra Club national web site is at http://www.sierraclub.org/

Sierra Club Delta Chapter represents the national organization in Louisiana and works on issues of statewide concern. The Delta Chapter website is located at: www.lasierraclub.org and the facebook page can be found by searching in facebook for Sierra Club Delta Chapter Louisiana.

Sierra Club Acadian Group represents our members on issues specific to Southwest Louisiana. The Acadian Group conducts regular meetings to work on issues and plan outings and projects. All are welcome to attend.

The post About Us appeared first on Lafayette Sierra Club.

Lafayette Connector Comments

Cauchemar Media — Wed, 11 May 2016 01:54:41 +0000

Lafayette Connector Comments

Sierra Club member Mike Waldon is now collecting and archiving public comments on the I-49 connector. Mike says:

“I am using a blog for my comment/news archive. It is available at http://connectorcomments.blogspot.com/

Link to Mike’s blog

The blog layout is still in construction, but I think it is easy to follow. The blog posts each represent one comment, and the posts just follow one another in the order of when I wrote them. The blog posts (i.e. comments) have labels which are listed in the box on the right. If you click on a label (like “Human health”) you only see posts (comments) that were assigned that label. Under the Resources heading you can click to see a page of links to news articles (including Roger’s links). I hope to add several other “Resource” pages in the future.

If anyone would like to, you can subscribe to the blog. If you know of another news article that should be included in the news links page, scroll to the bottom of the page and leave a Comment with the story link and title. The blog is currently set to accept comments from “registered users.” This disallows anonymous comments. I could change that if its a problem, but I am trying to avoid spam advertisements, calls to find God by sending money, and such.

You can also comment on the posted individual I-49 Connector Comments posts — and comments are very welcome.

If you want to write and new single blog post, I suggest you email me the text and I will add it. And, for anyone who feels like being more involved, Send me an email to ask to be listed as a “Blog Author.” Then you too can directly add posts yourself.”

The post Lafayette Connector Comments appeared first on Lafayette Sierra Club.

Attachment A: Lafayette connector project:

Cauchemar Media — Tue, 10 May 2016 03:45:56 +0000

i 49 Attachment by Claire Taylor

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The post Attachment A: Lafayette connector project: appeared first on Lafayette Sierra Club.

Read all about it–The I-49 Contract

Cauchemar Media — Tue, 10 May 2016 03:34:29 +0000

I 49 Contract by Claire Taylor

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The post Read all about it–The I-49 Contract appeared first on Lafayette Sierra Club.