One of the signature improvements of the redesigned junction between Interstate 10 and Causeway Boulevard opened this afternoon, giving drivers coming out of New Orleans a way to stay physically above the fray of Veterans Memorial Boulevard in Metairie as they move up Causeway toward the north shore. The new, half-mile ramp for westbound I-10 traffic, carrying cars over Veterans...
One of the signature improvements of the redesigned junction between Interstate 10 and Causeway Boulevard opened this afternoon, giving drivers coming out of New Orleans a way to stay physically above the fray of Veterans Memorial Boulevard in Metairie as they move up Causeway toward the north shore.
Just before the new ramp opens, workers unveil signs directing drivers from westbound Interstate 10 to northbound Causeway on Monday.The new, half-mile ramp for westbound I-10 traffic, carrying cars over Veterans and reconnecting with northbound Causeway on the ground by
The opening marks a milestone in the Causeway interchange construction that began in 2009, representing the final planned piece of the project's first phase, which targeted exits and ramps on the eastern side of Causeway, and providing one of the most noticeable changes in the $86.6 million project, especially for drivers headed to the
"One of the biggest improvements you're going to see is that west-to-northbound movement," out of the entire Causeway upgrade, said Rick Skoien, project engineer with the state Department of Transportation and Development.
A lingering piece of unfinished business still hangs over the $35.6 million revamping of the first half of the Causeway and I-10 connection, however, in the form of a new, but already closed ramp linking northbound Causeway to westbound I-10.
That's where inspectors discovered rare, mysterious cracks in a support column originally erected in 2006 in advance of the interchange overhaul. Transportation Department officials last month closed the ramp, which had just opened two months earlier. They said they were investigating the cause of the excessive cracking but encountering a vexing puzzle.
Department Spokeswoman Bambi Hall said today that the investigation remains open.
Workers prepare to open a new ramp linking westbound I-10 to northbound Causeway that keeps drivers above the congestion on Veterans Memorial Boulevard in Metairie.The final report is not yet finished, she said, but crews began installing temporary extra supports on Friday which should allow the ramp to reopen in the next two weeks as engineers and workers continue pondering the weaknesses in the concrete.
The new ramp, however, should immediately begin to benefit north shore commuters, who no longer have to merge and mingle with Veterans-bound traffic as they navigate the interchange, Skoien said.
"It'll be a dedicated ramp all the way from I-10 over Veterans," he said shortly before crews opened the traffic flow on the ramp. "It'll be free-flowing as long as Causeway is flowing."
The $51 million reworking of the ramps on the western side of Causeway has begun and will last into 2012. After that, transportation officials will focus on planning a widening of I-10 from the Clearview to Veterans exits, continuing more than a decade of upgrades.
Mark Waller can be reached at 504.883.7056 or mwaller@timespicayune.com.