AUGUST 2016 LA 1 TO LA 30 CONNECTOR STAGE 0 FEASIBILITY STUDY STATE PROJECT NO. H.004100 FEDERAL AID PROJECT NUMBER H004100 EAST AND WEST BATON ROUGE AND IBERVILLE PARISHES, LOUISIANA SPN H.004100 - FEASIBILITY STUDY TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page No. 1.0 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Project Description .................................................................................. 1 1.2 Purpose and Need ................................................................................... 1 2.0 ALTERNATIVES .................................................................................................. 2 2.1 Alternative Development ......................................................................... 2 2.1.1 Alternative 1................................................................................. 11 2.1.2 Alternative 2................................................................................. 11 2.1.3 Alternative 3................................................................................. 13 2.1.4 Alternative 4................................................................................. 13 2.1.5 Alternative 5................................................................................. 13 2.2 MISSISSIPPI RIVER BRIDGES .............................................................. 15 3.0 TRAFFIC ANALYSIS ......................................................................................... 17 4.0 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT ............................................................................. 20 5.0 AGENCY AND PUBLIC OUTREACH ................................................................ 22 6.0 STAGE 0 PRELIMINARY SCOPE AND BUDGET CHECKLIST ....................... 23 7.0 REFERENCES ................................................................................................... 30 8.0 ACRONYMS ....................................................................................................... 32 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Buffered Project Areas ....................................................................................... 3 2 Roadway Typical Section without Rail ............................................................. 5 3 Roadway Typical Section with Rail ................................................................... 6 4 Mississippi River Bridge Typical Section without Rail ................................... 7 5 Mississippi River Bridge Typical Section with Rail ......................................... 8 6 Rail Alignments General Plan .......................................................................... 10 7 Buffered Project Area Limits - Alternatives 1 And 2 ...................................... 12 8 Buffered Project Area Limits - Alternatives 3, 4, And 5 ................................. 14 9 Mississippi River Bridge Plan and Elevation - Alternative 1 without Rail ... 16 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 2032 and 2046 Projected Volumes (Vehicles per Hour) ................................ 18 2 Alternatives Environmental Criteria Matrix .................................................... 21 040-012-039AH-F LA 1 to LA 30 Connector Final St 0 Feasibility Study_cost updates i PROVIDENCE SPN H.004100 - FEASIBILITY STUDY TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) LIST OF APPENDICES (ON CD) Appendix A Mississippi River Bridge Concepts B Traffic Report C Environmental Inventory D Environmental Checklists 040-012-039AH-F LA 1 to LA 30 Connector Final St 0 Feasibility Study_cost updates ii PROVIDENCE SPN H.004100 - FEASIBILITY STUDY 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Project Description The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) and the Interstate 10 (I-10) Corridor Improvement Study Project Team are conducting a Stage 0 Feasibility Study and Environmental Inventory (Feasibility Study) to provide an additional Mississippi River crossing connecting Louisiana Highway 1 (LA 1) to Louisiana Highway 30 (LA 30) at a location between the existing I-10 Mississippi River Bridge and the Sunshine Bridge in Donaldsonville, Louisiana. The crossing locations being studied are located within East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, and Iberville Parishes, Louisiana. The crossing would be a multi-lane structure with roadways connecting LA 1 to LA 30. This connection is proposed to run generally east-west and provide an alternative route for industrial and residential traffic to Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas. As the proposed action involves the installation of a new Mississippi River bridge crossing, consistent with the Statewide Transportation Plan’s (STP) Rail Vision, this feasibility study will also consider a bridge structure that integrates rail line. This study accompanies, but is independent of, the I-10 Corridor Stage 0 study, DOTD Project No. H.004100 and Federal Aid Project No. H004100. 1.2 Purpose and Need Traffic congestion in the Baton Rouge metropolitan area has grown so that improvements to the mainline of I-10 alone cannot solve the issues. A regional approach to improvement projects is necessary. The Baton Rouge Metropolitan long range plan reflects this approach and includes several off-interstate projects along with an improvement to I-10 through Baton Rouge. The purpose of the proposed project is to provide connectivity between existing LA 1 and LA 30, to serve as an additional Mississippi River crossing, and to decrease traffic congestion along I-10. By fulfilling the project purpose, the project also addresses the need to provide off- interstate projects to relieve traffic pressure on I-10. While the project’s purpose is primarily to relieve I-10 congestion, the addition of a rail component complies with the STP objective to expand the state’s rail infrastructure to provide increased transportation efficiency, cost effectiveness, accessibility, capacity, and intermodal connectivity. 040-012-039AH-F LA 1 to LA 30 Connector Final St 0 Feasibility Study_cost updates 1 PROVIDENCE SPN H.004100 - FEASIBILITY STUDY 2.0 ALTERNATIVES 2.1 Alternative Development There were five build alternatives for the LA 1 to LA 30 Connector studied in this inventory: Alternatives 1 through 5. Figure 1 below shows the locations of these build alternatives. Alternatives 1, 2, and 3 were derived from the Baton Rouge Loop Tier 1 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) prepared by the Capital Area Expressway Authority in 2011 and finalized in 2016, incorporated by reference. These alternatives correspond with Alternatives S14, S13, and S12, respectively, of the Baton Rouge Loop Tier 1 FEIS. Alternatives 4 and 5 were added during the scoping of this project and have not been evaluated to the same degree relative to environmental impacts as Alternatives 1-3, as they were accepted from an FEIS. Alternatives 4 and 5 were also not subjected to public review as were Alternatives 1-3. A 2,000-foot corridor (study area) was created for all build alternatives and used to calculate potential environmental impacts. Each alternative is depicted in Figure 1 and is described as follows: The study area for Alternative 1 consists of 1594.58 acres and has a bridge centered at Latitude 30°22’18.40” N and Longitude 91°14’8.27” W. The study area for Alternative 2 consists of 1701.14 acres and has a bridge centered at Latitude 30°20’52.26” N and Longitude 91°14’17.67” W. The study area for Alternative 3 consists of 1887.91 acres and has a bridge centered at Latitude 30°16’36.36” N and Longitude 91°09’06.08” W. The study area for Alternative 4 consists of 2472.49 acres and has a bridge centered at Latitude 30°18’47.55” N and Longitude 91°13’01.00” W. The study area for Alternative 5 consists of 1994.49 acres and has a bridge centered at Latitude 30°18’18.33” N and Longitude 91°13’44.05” W. 040-012-039AH-F LA 1 to LA 30 Connector Final St 0 Feasibility Study_cost updates 2 PROVIDENCE SPN H.004100 - FEASIBILITY STUDY FIGURE 1 BUFFERED PROJECT AREAS 040-012-039AH-F LA 1 to LA 30 Connector Final St 0 Feasibility Study_cost updates 3 PROVIDENCE SPN H.004100 - FEASIBILITY STUDY All build alternatives propose two scenarios, one being vehicular traffic only, and the other being vehicular traffic plus one railroad section. All build alternatives consist of a four-lane roadway with 12-foot travel lanes,10-foot inside shoulders,12-foot outside shoulders, roadside ditches, and a 66-foot median to allow for future widening to a six-lane facility. All build alternatives also include a new Mississippi River bridge crossing with a six-lane main span. While traffic data presently supports a four-lane bridge, additional lanes cannot be added to a cable stay bridge in the future, therefore, six lanes are proposed to provide for future conditions. The proposed typical roadway sections are shown below in Figures 2 and 3. The proposed typical Mississippi River Bridge sections are shown below in Figures 4 and 5 and are located in Appendix A. 040-012-039AH-F LA 1 to LA 30 Connector Final St 0 Feasibility Study_cost updates 4 PROVIDENCE SPN H.004100 - FEASIBILITY STUDY FIGURE 2 ROADWAY TYPICAL SECTION WITHOUT RAIL 040-012-039AH-F LA 1 to LA 30 Connector Final St 0 Feasibility Study_cost updates 5 PROVIDENCE SPN H.004100 - FEASIBILITY STUDY FIGURE 3 ROADWAY TYPICAL SECTION WITH RAIL 040-012-039AH-F LA 1 to LA 30 Connector Final St 0 Feasibility Study_cost updates 6 PROVIDENCE SPN H.004100 - FEASIBILITY STUDY FIGURE 4 MISSISSIPPI RIVER BRIDGE TYPICAL SECTION WITHOUT RAIL 040-012-039AH-F LA 1 to LA 30 Connector Final St 0 Feasibility Study_cost updates