Road Ecology Center

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration–Louisiana Division (FHWA-LA), proposed to construct a four-lane fully controlled access elevated highway on new location with bridges spanning navigable waterways. Identified as the LA 1 Improvements Project, the proposed facility would be approximately 17 miles in length, generally parallel Louisiana Highway 1 (LA 1) and would extend from Louisiana Highway 3235 (LA 3235) west of Golden Meadow to Louisiana Highway 3090 (LA 3090) at its intersection with LA 1, north of Port Fourchon. The project traverses some of most ecologically unique and sensitive areas in Louisiana, and perhaps the nation. The success of the project’s location and environmental studies and environmental impact statement (EIS) is attributed to LADOTD’s and FHWA-LA’s environmental stewardship, cooperative partnering with federal and state resource agencies, and the context sensitive approach employed and environmental commitments made to reach a consensus on a selected alignment that best balanced the project needs with the overall impacts. The project has received national attention as a “landmark effort in environmental streamlining” and a model by which other projects should be developed.