WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge, LA |Officials answer questions about ramp meters

Officials answer questions about ramp meters

By Keitha Nelson - bio | email

DENHAM SPRINGS, LA (WAFB) - The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development held an informational meeting Tuesday night to provide further details to the public about the new ramp meters that will be installed at numerous sites along the Interstate 12 Corridor in East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes. Many people wonder whether or not the meters can be effective.

Arthur Perkins was born and raised in Denham Springs. He knows all about the headaches of getting around. Perkins went to the DOTD informational meeting with high hopes.

"It's very frustrating," Perkins said. "You leave home and you don't know when you're going to arrive at your destination. However, with something like this, it's a little more predictable."

Sherry Dupre with DOTD said the ramp meters will work like a traffic signal, but much quicker. Every four seconds, the light will change from red to green, allowing one car at a time to get onto the interstate. The ramp meters will be turned on during the morning and evening commutes, when things seem to be the busiest. Dupre said studies show the meters can reduce crashes up to 30 percent, which is exciting news for some.

The biggest concern, however, centers on possible traffic blockage of feeder roads as people wait to get onto the interstate, causing additional backup in those areas.

"If it does in fact back up onto the feeder routes, we'll turn them off," Dupre said.

According to traffic officials, the ramp meters are just months away from being installed at numerous sites along I-12 in East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes. The pair will be the first parishes in Louisiana to have the meters put up. There will be 16 of them on ramps between Essen Lane and Walker.

The startup cost is estimated at $1.5 million. Officials hope the meters, along with the $131 million I-12 widening project already underway, will help with the traffic problem. DOTD officials say drivers will begin to see the ramp meters installed along the I-12 Corridor in early 2010. They will be turned on in the spring.

Florida, Texas, Georgia and numerous other states have been using the meters for decades.

Related Stories

• Ramp meters going into effect on I-12

Copyright 2009 WAFB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.