LAPLACE – The Department of Transportation and Development has begun preliminary work for a $1.9 million project at the intersection of U.S. Highway 61 and Louisiana Highway 3188, more commonly known as the intersection of Airline Highway and Belle Terre Boulevard in LaPlace.
The project scope will include a double left turn lane from southbound Airline Highway (toward New Orleans) to Belle Terre Boulevard and will include drainage work, widening of the existing roadway, construction of curb and gutter and a curbed median. The construction length is approximately 2,000 feet, beginning west of Elm Street and ending approximately 700 feet east of Belle Terre Boulevard. The roadway will be overlaid and restriped within the project limits.   
Although drainage work will begin earlier, traffic will not be impacted until January. Few daytime lane closures are expected, but the Communications Department and the DOTD will provide additional information as the project progresses. 
“We look forward to this project providing relief to the traffic congestion that occurs in the mornings and evenings at this intersection. Residents are requested to proceed with caution in the work area, as these much needed improvements are made,” said St. John the Baptist Parish President Natalie Robottom.
The project is expected to be completed in early May 2014.