Infrastructure Management Solutions for New Orleans’ Traffic Woes

The residents of North Shore, New Orleans, have been putting up with the pains of its slow-moving traffic in their daily commute long enough, and they want solutions.

For instance, a four-mile distance could take motorists an hour to drive through.

The passing of the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (IIJA) will provide lawmakers with the needed infusion of funding to address the congestion problem by widening their roads and bridges.

But it didn’t take long for them to realize that addressing the city’s traffic problem is like opening a pandora’s box. Suddenly, they also need to fix the sewer and drainage issues.

Sen. Patrick Mc Grath and Rep. Mark Right, who chair the Transportation committees in their respective chambers, are keen to channel the federal funding to their district’s congestion problems and improve its residents’ situation, says the Fox8’s article, “‘Absolute nightmare’: New North Shore transportation heads could alleviate traffic woes.”

The Fox8 article mentions the following:

• Currently, the local and state funds are being used to widen the interstate 12 (I-12) highway costing $37 million, replace a bridge on Highway 190 in Covington to make it from a two- to a four-lane bridge costing $29 million, and widen of Highway 22.
• “We are 25 years behind the eight-ball when it comes to our infrastructure meeting our growth needs,” says McMath, including sewer and drainage needs.
• “The state’s backlog of infrastructure projects ballooned to $14 billion over the last decade.”
• “Here on the North Shore, it’s all capacity projects. It’s all traffic and congestion issues.”
• “In Calcasieu Parish, they need a new bridge in Lake Charles. In Baton Rouge, they need a new bridge and a new bypass. Shreveport, Acadiana — there are problems throughout [the state]”, he adds.

According to the NEC article, “How can traffic congestion be reduced in urban areas?” drivers of traffic congestion include economic expansion, urban population growth, the rise of ride-hailing services, which places more cars in the streets, and underinvestment in infrastructure.

In the US, underinvestment in infrastructure is a widespread problem. A lack of maintenance upgrades can cause failure or affect service levels of roads, bridges, and tunnels. Fortunately, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), aka Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), signed into law by President Biden on 15 November 2021, will provide the needed resources to address a variety of infrastructure needs.

However, aside from fixing the transport infrastructure, the NEC article provides three smart transport solutions that can also help reduce congestion. These are:

1. Adaptive traffic signals. This solution allows cities to adjust the signal cycle when there are changes in traffic flows which can help manage congestion.
   
2. Innovative parking solutions can reduce the time to drive around and find that empty parking space. Singapore and San Francisco are already using sensors around the city and parking areas to help people find available spaces to park and adjust the price of parking depending on demand.
   
3. Smart corridors. These sections of the road feature technologies to alert drivers of traffic conditions, weather events, and any obstacles or accidents that can impact driving. Technologies like this can help motorists plan their routes and ease traffic.

As more and more people flock to the cities to live and seek opportunities, congestion will only worsen.

But solutions are plentiful to deal with the congestion problem, including those already mentioned above. Innovative solutions require a forward-thinking and proactive approach.