The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) announced new measures to improve safety on the I-10 Atchafalaya Basin Bridge. This includes the installation of new speed limit signs and “your speed” feedback signs. DOTD Spokesperson Rodney Mallett…
“We have found that over the course of the years that many of the crashes between Lafayette and Baton Rouge can be traced back to distracted driving, speeding and tailgating.”
The speed limit will be 60 mph for all vehicles, replacing the previous limits of 55 mph for trucks with trucks still restricted to the right lane.
“So basically this is a safety feature to have people drive more consistent speed together along that 18-mile stretch.”
The installation of “your speed” feedback signs to alert speeding drivers and warn them to slow down when traveling too fast aim to reduce fatal and injury crashes that often keep the basin bridge closed for hours at a time.
“Hopefully we can negate the speed differential and minimize the amount of crashes we have on the basin bridge.”
DOTD will closely monitor speed, crash and incident-related date to determine the effectiveness of the speed limit and feedback signs.
2021 saw the highest number of incidents on the Basin Bridge with 278 crashes, 91 injuries and 2 fatalities.
