The project would also be yet another roundabout planned in Ascension Parish, where DOTD and parish government officials have embraced the circular, continuous flow intersections as a way to move traffic and improve safety. They don’t have traffic lights.
Tanker trucks and other 18-wheelers pass on La. 30 through the South Robert Wilson Road/South St. Landry Avenue intersection Friday, March 10, 2023, in Gonzales. State highway officials recently opened construction bids to build a one of three new roundabouts for this busy commercial area near Interstate 10, in background, at the pictured intersection. The roundabouts can handle 18-wheelers, state officials say. The La. 30 area handles lots of commuter and heavy industrial traffic for nearby petrochemical plants.
DOTD bid openings Wednesday also included another long-sought roundabout in Ascension, north of Gonzales at Churchpoint and Roddy roads. The construction bid was $1.94 million, state bid documents say.
Gonzales city officials have been supportive in the past of roundabouts at La. 30 and I-10 and, on Friday, welcomed the prospect of them being built.
“The City is excited to see construction begin on La. 30 at I-10 to help relieve heavy congestion in this critical, regional corridor,” Mayor Barney Arceneaux said in a statement.
Construction is expected to take two years once it starts, state highway officials said.
Mallett, the state highway spokesman, added that typically, construction starts three to four months after a bid letting, though the time frame can be slightly longer if a contractor runs into delays getting specialty materials.
But the bid opening comes as state highway officials and Tanger Outlets, a major sales tax contributor for the city, are battling in court over the plan.
Tanger is one of a handful of business owners in the area who have raised concerns about the impact the roundabouts and related restrictions of left turns would have on customer access.
Representatives of Ascension’s Robert family, which has gas stations and land in the area and owns a fuel distribution business, have aired similar concerns about these proposed and other already built roundabouts in the parish.
Tanger’s main entrance, which would be between the two new roundabouts west of I-10, would only allow right turns in and out.
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