UL Lafayette: CDW: I-49 Connector: Introduction

				I-49 Connector: Introduction


				NEXT PAGE TOPICS introduction public process case studies alignments garden urbanism alt. street links public realm neighborhoods lighting sound study public art conclusion recognition	The I-49 Connector Project is a part of a proposed North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) highway which will run from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to New Orleans, Louisiana. The Connector is designed to intersect Lafayette, Louisiana, through the urban area adjacent to the center of downtown. This six-mile-long-corridor urban and neighborhood design project was funded in part by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LaDOTD) and by the Lafayette Consolidated Government acting in its capacity as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). The interstate project brings opportunities for the region, but also causes disruption of everyday life and business. The Community Design Workshop was contracted by the Lafayette Consolidated Government/ Metropolitan Planning Organization to integrate their skills in architectural, landscape, and urban design, as well as housing and lighting, into the mechanics of roadway planning and development. The I-49 Connector Project relied on nine faculty members with different areas of expertise, working in conjunction with 20 students in the design process. The LaDOTD originally planned the Evangeline Thruway as a future interstate highway route in the 1960's. In 1992, the LaDOTD held a public hearing on this major freeway facility which was attended by approximately 200 individuals who opposed the project. The LaDOTD responded by terminating further work on the environmental document. The Lafayette MPO, in cooperation with local governments, the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce and concerned individuals, initiated a new study called the "North/South Corridor- The Path to Progress." This study evaluated five options for the extension of the I-49 through Lafayette Parish: (1) Western Bypass, (2) Eastern Alignment, (3) Evangeline Thruway, (4) Eastern Bypass, and (5) No-Build. The Evangeline Thruway development proposal, which advocated cutting though the center of the city in relation to the Evangeline Thruway, was accepted. Within the Evangeline thruway proposal various alignments were studied, including elevated structures, at-grade facilities, and a cut-and-cover proposal. The cut-and-cover proposal, i.e. sending the highway into the ground 17 feet, was eventually rejected because LaDOTD and the FHWA considered the drainage too marginal. The decision to reject this proposal was further influenced by Hurricane Andrew, which hit southwestern Louisiana in 1992. This hurricane forced evacuation onto U.S. 90/Evangeline Thruway for most of the population of southwestern Louisiana. During the evacuation, a trip that ordinarily would have taken 20 minutes took four to five hours. U.S. 90/Evangeline Thruway is the only major roadway between the Atchafalaya Basin (swamp) and the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Andrew underscored the urgent need for the I-49 facility. The Community Design Workshop was asked to weave the structure of the I-49 Connector Project in to the fabric of the city. The MPO Advisory Committees instructed the Community Design Workshop to develop urban design strategies for two alternative alignments (RR-4 and EA-1).

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Document last revised Friday, April 23, 2004 12:18 PM