LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) – It’s a highway project that’s been in the works for decades. The goal of Interstate 49 South is to connect Lafayette to New Orleans using the Highway 90 corridor. Much of the road has already been brought up to interstate standards, but some big challenges remain.
The Evangeline Thruway could someday become part of I-49 South. The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development plans to convert 160 miles of the thruway and Highway 90 from Lafayette to New Orleans into I-49.
“Actually it’s been so long that we’ve heard anything about it that I’ve pretty much forgot about it except for all this construction that’s going on now,” said Jodie Suire of New Iberia.
“They’ve been talking about that for a long time,” said Leroy Readoux of Lafayette. “We definitely need it to be fixed now.”
Some people wonder if the project will ever get done. Future I-49 signs along the corridor have been up since the mid-1990s. The DOTD has been talking about the project since 1987.
Alec Metz of New Iberia said, “I think people just don’t think it’s going to happen necessarily due to the fact that they really haven’t done anything.”
DOTD Secretary Sherri LeBas said that isn’t true.
“We’ve brought up already 100 miles up to interstate standards so we have made great strides on I-49 South,” LeBas said.
LeBas said the DOTD has broken up the project into fundable, independent sections. One example of this is widening Highway 90 from Ambassador Caffery to Albertson Parkway to six lanes. Work on the $57 million project began last summer.
Supporters say a completed I-49 would improve safety, provide another hurricane evacuation route, and benefit South Louisiana’s economy.
“This is the energy corridor of America from Lafayette all the way down to New Orleans,” said David Mann, executive director of the I-49 South Coalition.
The I-49 South Coalition is a business-based group made up of about 75 members. Mann said the group lobbies for federal funding and wants to make sure the project gets done.
“We’ll keep it on the front burner and as they always say the squeaky wheel gets the grease and we’re looking not for grease, we’re looking for funding,” Mann said.
The state has already spent $210 million on I-49 South. The remaining sections will cost $3 billion. The total project is projected to cost $3.2 billion.
Two projects make up a big chunk. A 36 mile section between Raceland and the Westbank Expressway is estimated to cost $1.5 billion.
The second one is the Evangeline Thruway from I-10 to the Lafayette Regional Airport. The DOTD is considering an elevated road through that four mile stretch. The price tag for the Lafayette Connector is $750 million. Some properties will have to be torn down to make way for it. LeBas said the environmental process is done and the DOTD has selected a consultant.
“It’s a very challenging section,” LeBas explained. “Just the nature of what the interstate – the area that it will be going through – but I think once it’s done, I think the people will be very satisfied with that portion.”
So as you can see – while many miles have been completed – huge hurdles remain. Mann believes the project will be done during his lifetime. LeBas said she can’t say when I-49 South will be fully finished.
“It would be difficult for me to give you an absolute date on when the whole corridor will be complete but I can tell you that we are very committed to this corridor,” she said.
So how will this huge project be funded? LeBas said a study found making it a toll road wouldn’t work. She said vehicle sales tax money will go into the state transportation trust fund in 2019. That’s expected to generate $400 million a year. Some of that money could be used. There’s also hope the federal government will put some money into the project.I49 Map Overview
