Taking place along a section of U.S. 90 in Lafayette, Louisiana, the Ambassador Caffery Interchange project is being led by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) and its general contractor, JB James Construction. U.S. 90 runs through the southern part of the state and connects Lafayette to New Orleans.
The Ambassador Caffery Interchange project is part of the Geaux South program, a long-standing program in Louisiana. According to the DOTD website, Geaux South is a “multi-billion-[dollar], multi-year construction initiative to convert approximately 160 miles of the current U.S. 90 corridor from Lafayette to New Orleans to Interstate 49.”
"In 1987, the U.S. Congress authorized and funded a demonstration study to provide ... a limited continuous access between an interstate route and a highway on the federal aid primary system here in Lafayette, Louisiana," said Deidra Druilhet, a DOTD Public Information Officer.
The project will elevate U.S. 90 (future I-49) to interstate-grade standards. Currently, certain sections of U.S. 90 — a major industrial corridor — have traffic signals.
"So, you've got this major corridor with lots of freight traffic that goes from traffic flowing at a high-speed rate to stop-and-go due to traffic signals," Druilhet said.
Besides slowing traffic, the change in traffic patterns is a safety hazard.
The update will also enhance connectivity for residents living along U.S. 90 and will expand economic opportunities.
After the Geaux South program is complete, other benefits of the overall project will include:
- The I-49 extension providing a direct access of Midwest industries to the ports of south Louisiana; a bypass around Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for east-west traffic on I-10; and a connection between oil industry suppliers and manufacturers from New Orleans to Houston, Texas
- Significantly enhancing the interstate highway network at the state as well as national levels by serving as a link from Louisiana ports to the Canadian border
Druilhet said the project will also enhance safety in the event of a hurricane, since U.S. 90 serves as an evacuation route for residents living in south Louisiana.
The Ambassador Caffery Interchange project is one of the multiple large construction projects that make up the Geaux South program.
The project will grade separate U.S. 90 and the Ambassador Caffery intersections. Traffic will be able to proceed down U.S. 90 (future I-49) over Ambassador Caffery, rather than having to stop for a traffic signal at that intersection as they do today.
"Whenever we separate directions of travel, we've removed potential for various accidents," said DOTD's Ryan Morvant, who is serving as the I-49 South Program Manager. “By allowing traffic to flow uninterrupted, we should see a reduction in crashes and safety issues.”
The team is also building frontage roads along the interstate.
"The frontage roads will create access management," Morvant said. "We won't have vehicles turning out onto this fast-moving highway. Instead, they'll turn onto a frontage road and then merge into the highway down the road."
Other project elements include:
- Construction of a six-lane bridge structure over Ambassador Caffery
- Widening U.S. 90 to six lanes (just north of La. 92 to Albertson Parkway, approximately 2 miles)
- Construction of U-turn lanes
- Installation of new drainage structures
- Owner/Engineer: Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development
- General Contractor: JB James Construction, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Designer: Duplantis Design Group, Thibodaux, Louisiana
- Other Contractors: Sigma Consulting, Metairie, Louisiana; Huval & Associates, Lafayette, Louisiana
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Having begun in summer 2022, the Ambassador Caffery Interchange project is long and complex. Morvant estimated that the plans for this project top 800 pages.
"On a project of this size, there are so many different things going on," DOTD Project Engineer Jordan Woods said. “We've got asphalt, PCC pavement, structural concrete, concrete, embankment, and drainage. Pretty much anything that's in DOTD's scope of what they can do from a construction standpoint is part of this project."
Staffing and turnover on the project have also been challenging. Woods said that is natural, given the project's length.
"It's the world we live in right now,” he said. “There's turnover and people move up in different positions." Woods is an example of that, as he started as an Assistant Project Engineer on the project.
There have also been key experienced personnel, including the Inspector Supervisor, who have been involved in this project from the outset.
"Those who have stepped in have used the knowledge of the people who started the project to help ensure that all the work is being done as it should," Woods said. "We have, as a team, stayed on top of this project ... to make sure that we're delivering the public, a good, high-quality, high-value infrastructure project."
Another challenge on the job is maintenance of traffic, as U.S. 90 has remained open during construction. The current average daily traffic along the Ambassador Caffery Interchange is 46,000, and it is expected to rise to 102,000 by 2041.
"Our Inspectors, along with the Assistant Project Engineers, are constantly looking at traffic control that's in place," Woods said. "We have weekly meetings with the contractor to go over what's going to be happening in the next few weeks, and any traffic control deficiencies that need to be corrected, along with when we're changing phasing."
Woods added that this includes what closures will go into effect. Part of the reason the team is looking ahead is to ensure that they provide sufficient notice to the traveling public.
Note that much of the traffic on this section of U.S. 90 is local. Another route connecting Lafayette to New Orleans is I-10. This route includes the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge, an 18.2-mile twin bridge.
"If there's an accident on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge, it could lead to hours-long delays," Druilhet said. "U.S. 90 is an alternate route to New Orleans."
Broussard and New Iberia, Louisiana, (just south of Lafayette) are home to numerous oilfield service companies. Oilfield service companies and adjacent industries are prominent in the area, as well as throughout the state and neighboring states. They also make up a significant portion of the traffic on U.S. 90.
General contractor JB James Construction is headquartered in Baton Rouge and regularly partners with DOTD.
The team expects to complete construction in spring 2026, which is a few months ahead of the originally scheduled date. Woods credits JB James for this achievement.
"They're very efficient and have a lot of experience completing big bridge type of projects, which gives them the ability to streamline their process,” he said. “Their guys are also very diverse in their abilities, so crews will come in and they'll do two, three, four different types of projects within the overall project."
The $136.5 million project is being funded completely by the state.
"Funding for this project was made available from the BP economic settlement fund," Morvant said. "When the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion happened in the Gulf, part of the settlement involved the state receiving $650 million to put toward transportation projects."
Just under a quarter of the money — $150 million — went toward the I-49 South Corridor over 13 years.
"DOTD pursued a TIFIA loan to make that funding available to the state earlier at a very favorable interest rate that far underruns the cost of inflation," Morvant said. "It's an innovative funding technique that we haven't used previously, and it enabled us to bring this project to fruition sooner than we would have if we had to wait for all the funds to hit the bank."
When the team completes the Ambassador Caffery Interchange project, the Geaux South program will be one step closer to completion. The current project aims to enhance safety and streamline traffic exiting the city. Commercial vehicles will soon be able to navigate the route more efficiently, and the frontage road will open the area to economic development.
