Updates

Trish Lowrey

Comment:

After attending the public hearing on August 30, 2018, I am even more concerned about the removal of green space buffers and trees, particularly for the proposed College Drive exit flyover. There was very little detail given about the flyover exit, such as the plans to address drainage issues, and plans for what will happen during construction to protect the areas impacted from noise and water. Will it require the taking of any of my neighbor’s property in Jefferson Place/Bocage? Will my neighborhood be completely without a sound barrier in sections during construction? Will the “reconstructed to current standards” sound wall be placed closer to my neighborhood? As I am sure you know, exposure to noise pollution is hazardous and can bring about various adverse health consequences, such as sleep disturbance, hearing impairment, hypertension, and ischemic heart disease. We have a lot of young children in our neighborhood who could suffer life long-impacts from this exposure. We also have a lot of health care professionals living in our neighborhood that our community depends on for their health care needs and we, as a community, have an interest in these professionals performing at their highest levels of competency. Additionally, we have a lot of flash flooding of the streets in my neighborhood and surrounding areas. How will all of this construction, removal of green space and trees, and additional hard surface impact both the noise level and the drainage in this area? What are the plans to mitigate the additional noise, runoff, and loss of green space and trees? I hope that the plans I saw and heard at the public meeting can be revised to protect our trees and green spaces and to increase plans for additional sound barriers, green spaces, and trees to help shield our citizens from the traffic noise.


Response:

DOTD will be replacing trees in accordance with their Significant Tree policy and will replant where, possible in coordination with Baton Rouge Green. No additional right-of-way is currently proposed for the construction and operation of the College Drive flyover ramp. The project team is evaluating the concept of a right turn from the College Drive westbound exist to allow travels to direct access to Corporate Boulevard. The project team is evaluating the effect of the flyover ramp on the noise levels for the residences in the Jefferson Place and Bocage neighborhoods. It is the desire of the DOTD to provide noise barriers in advance of construction whenever possible. As there is a barrier in place, the barrier would remain until such time as it would need to be moved. Any potential drainage issues in this area and proper drainage design for the whole project area will be an important component of the Stage 3 Final Design Process.