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Port Fourchon: Airport Connector bridge likely to open in coming weeks after contractor tests; DOTD declined traffic signals
Summary
Port Fourchon officials said contractors have completed most electrical and control work on the Airport Connector bridge and expect to open to through traffic in the coming weeks; the state Department of Transportation and Development declined the port's request to install traffic signals, even after the port offered to cover costs.
Port Fourchon commissioners heard an update on the Airport Connector Road and Bridge project and were told the structure could open to through traffic in the next two weeks.
Joe, a PCola and Associates representative, told commissioners that contractors have completed much of the electrical and control work and that an emergency generator test “worked well.” He said striping and final punch‑list items are scheduled and that the port is “still looking to open the bridge for through traffic sometime late next week or probably more likely the following week.” The port’s schedule anticipates the bridge may be operable during the week of the 20th.
Joe described how the intersections will be configured: LA 1 will be controlled with stop signs and flashing red lights at all four approaches, and LA 308 will remain a through highway with no turning lanes at the bridge approach. He said there will be turning lanes on the bridge itself to access LA 308 or LA 1.
Commissioners pressed the engineering team about whether signalized intersections could be installed. Joe said the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) reviewed the port’s traffic studies and accident‑rate data and refused the port’s request for traffic signals. “We even the port ... told DOT that we would pay for everything, that they wouldn't pay for anything, but they still rejected it,” he said.
The executive director confirmed the port’s design followed DOTD’s standards and that DOTD indicated it would reconsider signalization only if future traffic studies and accident reports justify the change.
Why it matters: the bridge carries airport traffic and regional port traffic; intersection design affects driver behavior and local circulation. Port staff said the configuration is intended to reduce conflicts at opening, while reserving the option to revisit signals if future data support them.
What’s next: port staff will complete final testing and striping, and the board expects the bridge to be opened to through traffic once remaining punch‑list items are finished. Any future changes to add signals will require new traffic data and DOTD approval.
