Tagged: transportation

State officials say more than $668 million was spent on roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure during 2012.

Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Sherri LeBas says the money went to 372 improvement projects on more than 1,000 miles of roadways and 71 bridges in Louisiana.

LeBas said the state has reduced the backlog of road and bridge needs by nearly $2 billion. The department is responsible for more than 16,000 miles of roadway.

The bridge that crosses the Houma Navigation Canal at South Van Avenue in Houma will be closed to vehicle traffic from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday while crews work on the bridge.

The Courier reports the work, by state transportation workers, is part of a multimillion-dollar rehabilitation.

Alternate routes include the Houma Tunnel and the downtown Houma Twin Spans.

The new year is bringing free rush-hour tow trucks to help keep traffic flowing on one of the nation's busiest bridges.

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development says a tow truck will be stationed on the Crescent City Connection Bridge for three hours in the morning and three in the evening on weekdays.

The department says in a news release that the bridge is the nation's fifth busiest, with more than 156,000 vehicles crossing it daily and more than 33 million a year.

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway commuters should see the new year get off to a good start with an expanded north shore toll plaza.

At some point in January, bridge General Manager Carlton Dufrechou tells The Times-Picayune a fifth tollbooth and lane should be open for business at the Mandeville end of the bridge, helping the flow of traffic getting onto the 24-mile span.