Interstate 10 at Louisiana Avenue & Evangeline Thruway Widening, Lafayette

In 2002, James Construction Group LLC began construction of two projects in the Lafayette area. The larger of the two, worth $18.9 million, was a new interchange at I-10 and Louisiana Avenue. The smaller was the Evangeline Thruway Widening and Rehabilitation, worth about $10.4 million.

Most of the I-10 interchange project was new construction; however, three existing bridges were modified and utilized as part of the westbound on and off ramps and the eastbound on ramp.

The structures included in the project are two 416-meter overpass bridges, two 42-meter flat deck bridges and two existing 115-meter bridges widened 4.1 meters. In addition to the structures, there is approximately 200,000 cu. meters of embankment, 66,000 sq. meters of Class I and II base, 60,000 sq. meters of PCC mainline paving, 6,000 sq. meters of PCC shoulder paving and 1,600 linear meters of storm drain.

The Evangeline Thruway Widening and Rehabilitation project consisted of adding a new lane and new turning lanes to the existing Evangeline Thruway. The Thruway serves as a primary route for traffic to and from downtown Lafayette.

The project was phased to maintain two full lanes for traffic at all times. Included in the project were approximately 43,000 cu. yds. of excavation, 17,000 cu. yds. of embankment, 65,000 sq. yds. of Class I Florolite base, 39,000 sq. yds. of PCCP, 20,000 tons of asphaltic concrete, 6,600 sq. yds. of full-depth pavement patching and 6,700 linear ft. of storm drain.

There was also $985,000 worth of electrical work.

To reclaim some of the schedule time lost to inclement weather on the I-10 Louisiana Avenue project, James Construction Group crews doubled the amount of surcharge placed on top of the embankment from 3 ft. to 6 ft., reducing compaction time from the scheduled 90 days to a mere 60 days.

The innovative technique allowed the next phase of the project to begin four weeks earlier than originally forecasted.

Stopping traffic on Evangeline Thruway - one of Lafayette's most heavily traveled streets - to pour concrete was not feasible, so James Construction Group had to come up with another solution. From 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. crews shut down the roadway to one lane in each direction and performed their concrete pours.

Choosing to pour at a time when traffic was at its lightest meant that the impact on Lafayette residents and travelers was minimized.