Stuck on Airline in Ascension? More closures planned along highway; La. 73 work behind schedule – The Advocate

Drivers along Airline Highway in Ascension and St. James parishes should prepare for major traffic delays caused by road closures for routine railroad track maintenance.

"It'll be bumper to bumper, crawling again," saidAscension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre.

At least eight more additional daylong road closures are planned between Thursday and Saturday. Anearlier round of closures snarled traffic on four Ascension Parish roads Wednesday.

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One of those closures, at La. 73 and Airline in Prairieville, will last longer than expected. The road had been set reopen 5 p.m. Wednesday but now isn't expected to reopen until 2 p.m. Thursday due to unspecified "mechanical issues," state highway officials Wednesday afternoon.

With the continued closure of La. 73, Webre advised commuters to leave early Thursday and have patience for expected traffic in the morning. He said he will have extra motorcycle patrol officers out early to help monitor and direct traffic, if needed.

The eight new closures follow six that already took place. All are on roads that cross Airline and a Kansas City Southern railroad, according to the state Department of Transportation and Development and Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office.

Doniele Carlson, spokeswoman for KCS,said Wednesday that DOTD approved the closures and their timing in advance but added that KCS and DOTD "are reviewing closure plans in detail for the remainder of the work."

With the exception of the La. 73 work, the closures have been expected to last from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., DOTD said.

In addition to the extended work on La. 73 on Thursday, the upcoming closures along Airline Highway are on the following days:

Carlson said the railroad's workers are conducting routine maintenance that includes the resurfacing of at-grade highway crossings and railroad tie work.

DOTD officials had warned Ascension Parish drivers about traffic delays from the earlier round of track-related closures along Airline on Wednesday that included not only La. 73 in Prairieville but also La. 74 near Gonzales, East Ascension Street in Gonzales and New River Street in Gonzales.

Webre said any time the major state highways in the parish are closed, like La. 73 or La. 621, traffic can be expected because it limits ways to get in and out of the parish and to Interstate 10.

Earlier closures also happened on Post Office and Duplessis roads in Prairieville on Tuesday, the Sheriff's Office said.

All of the planned closures affected small sections of road that fall between Airline Highway and the KCS tracks.

Airline runs parallel to the railroad line, which crosses through the east banks of the two parishes.

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Stuck on Airline in Ascension? More closures planned along highway; La. 73 work behind schedule - The Advocate