The state plans to put traffic signals on entrance ramps along Interstate 12 between Baton Rouge and Walker to ease congestion, officials said Friday.
The aim is to create space between vehicles merging onto the interstate, which is undergoing a $131 million widening project from O’Neal Lane through Juban Road.
The ramp signals, which are common in larger cities such as Houston, are the first of their kind in Louisiana.
If they work as expected here the signals would be added to ramps along I-10 in Baton Rouge and elsewhere, said William Ankner, secretary for the state Department of Transportation and Development.
“This is good for our transportation system,” Ankner said Friday.
The traffic signals, called ramp meters, will force cars and trucks to proceed one at a time along entrance ramps onto I-12, roughly at four-second intervals.
They would be installed on 16 ramps at nine interchanges between Essen Lane in Baton Rouge and the Walker/La. 447 exit.
The eastbound ramps at Juban Road and Walker would be excluded because the amount of traffic does not justify the meters, state officials said.
The meters are set to operate primarily during peak commute times — westbound from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and eastbound from 2 p.m. until 7 p.m.
Sherry Dupre, a spokeswoman for the department, said they will begin operations in April or May.
Dupre said the meter project costs between $1.5 million and $2 million.
Public hearings for the I-12 ramp plans are scheduled for Nov. 3 in Baton Rouge, Nov. 4 in Walker and Nov. 10 in Denham Springs.
Dupre said ramp meters are used in roughly half the states, save travel time and trim accidents by up to 30 percent where cars and trucks merge into interstate traffic.
“People are going to think why would you put a traffic signal on a ramp,” Dupre said.
“Once everyone can see how the concept works and the science behind it, it really makes sense,” she added.
Two Baton Rouge area lawmakers who were briefed on the idea earlier this week said the plan is worth pursuing.
“It has some possibilities,” said state Rep. J. Rogers Pope, R-Denham Springs. “Anything we can do to help manage traffic would be beneficial.”
Pope said his one concern is the possibility of on-ramp traffic backing up onto interstate feeder roads, such as La. 447.
Dupre said the system would include automatic sensors which, if feeder roads become congested, can lead to the meters being adjusted or turned off.
Traffic managers would also be monitoring the sites from another location, she said.
Pope said lawmakers were assured by state transportation officials that, if the ramp meters fail to perform properly, they will be shelved.
State Sen. Dale Erdey, R-Livingston, said the change could aid traffic.
“This is something that models well to improve the traffic flow on I-12, both from the perspective of reducing congestion and reducing traffic accidents,” Erdey said.
The section of I-12 being widened is part of a corridor between Baton Rouge and Hammond where 10 people died in traffic crashes over a three-month period in 2007.
The work will widen I-12 to three lanes in each direction.
Eastbound traffic will carry three lanes from O’Neal Lane through Juban Road. Westbound traffic will be three lanes through Pete’s Highway.
Erdey said he hopes the state finds another $8 million-$10 million to extend the westbound widening to Juban Road.
Ankner said ramp meters represent a more active role in traffic management by his department.
“We are utilizing technologies like ramp meters to help address congestion and not simply to look at widenings as the only way to do it,” he said.
By Will Sentell
Source: The Advocate