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State closes part of La. 23 in Plaquemines for highway elevation project

Southbound lanes of La. 23 from Alliance to Point Celeste were closed Wednesday.

A portion of Louisiana 23 in Plaquemines Parish was closed on Wednesday, as part of of a $10.5 million project to elevate a 3.2-mile stretch of highway vulnerable to tidal surge during major storms. Raising the roadway, which was inundated by Hurricane Isaac floodwaters last August and September, will let people who live and work in lower Plaquemines reach their homes and jobs more quickly after storms, officials said.

"After the storm, we saw the need and we saw the frustration in everybody's eyes (because) of this happening year after year," Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser said during a news conference in Alliance on Wednesday.

The southbound lanes from Alliance to Point Celeste were closed, the state Department of Transportation and Development announced. Southbound traffic has been diverted to the northbound lanes just south of Ironton Road; the northbound lanes will carry two-way traffic until November.

Construction, which began last month, is expected to be complete in the fall of 2014, according to the state. Louisiana 23 will be elevated anywhere from 2 inches to 2 feet, Transportation Secretary Sherri LeBas said Wednesday in Alliance.

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Louisiana 23 near Ironton in Plaquemines Parish on Aug. 29, 2012, the day after Hurricane Isaac made landfall. The state is elevating a 3.2-mile stretch of Louisiana 23.

"We certainly picked it up in the high gear" after Isaac, LeBas said of the project.

State Sen. John Alario, R-Westwego, and Rep. Chris Leopold, R-Belle Chasse, who helped secure funding for the project, were on hand for what the transportation department said was a "milestone" announcement in the project.

"Funding for the needed improvements to the primary evacuation route will enhance the quality of life and facilitate economic development while expediting recovering after rising waters from hurricanes," Alario said. "The economic benefits of opening commerce after a major storm will pay dividends for the state of Louisiana."

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The state on Wednesday closed the southbound lanes of Louisiana 23, just south of Ironton Road, as it begins a key portion of a $10.5 million project to elevate the roadway. Southbound traffic is diverted to the northbound lanes, which will carry two-way traffic through November.

Saying 20,000 people travel into Plaquemines Parish to work at refineries or offshore, Nungesser pointed to Venice as the gateway to the petroleum industry in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Ensuring lower Plaquemines is accessible quickly after a storm plays a role in that development, he said.

"It's going to be Venice, or it's going to be Mississippi-Alabama," Nungesser said.

He said that PHI Inc., a helicopter company servicing the offshore industry, is expanding its operations in Venice, further illustrating the need to elevate Louisiana 23.

Local, state and federal money is being used on the project, according to the transportation department. Barriere Construction of Metairie has the contract.



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