Louisiana DOTD road reconstruction project faces backlash after increase in crashes
BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROPUD) — We took our cameras to the intersections of Highland Road and Terrace Street after getting a complaint about traffic safety in the area.
What we found were dozens of vehicles every day making illegal left-hand turns. One business and some Baton Rouge residents are blaming the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD).
“I think they made a terrible engineering design on what they’re doing on the off-ramp,” said Charles Brady, a Baton Rouge resident.
The DOTD road reconstruction project on Highland Road cuts off the left turn onto Terrace Street for drivers coming off of I-10 because of a newly installed raised median strip.
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Dozens of drivers every day are using the parking lot of an auto repair shop to get access to Terrace Street. The owner is fed up and didn’t want to go on camera, but we talked to DOTD about it.
“That maneuver is clearly illegal, so that’s a driver error. We are looking to see if there is anything else we can do,” said DOTD Communications Director Rodney Mallett.
Drivers are stopping on Highland Road to make the illegal turn and it’s causing accidents.
According to figures released by DOTD, car accidents have been on the rise since road construction began in 2022. From seven in 2021, 10 in 2022, and eight in 2023.
The Baton Rouge Police Department tells us there have been eight accidents so far in 2024.
“Well, the accidents that we have seen so far can be attributed to driver error, there is clearly a double yellow line that you’re not supposed to cross,” said Mallett.
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After our interview with DOTD, they sent us the following statement:
“We monitor these new intersection or changes in traffic patterns to see if there are improvements we can make. Our traffic engineering section is aware of drivers making the illegal left turn. There may be signage, pavement marking or striping that can help mitigate this behavior.”
Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development
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