Parish President Gordon E. Dove and Sheriff Jerry Larpenter announced a joint plan to maximize public safety and control increased traffic going into and out of the Intracoastal Waterway Tunnel due to the LADOTD’s closure of the State’s Bayou Lacarpe Bridge on LA 661 (South Van Avenue) for the next two months, followed by the closure of the State’s bridge over the Houma Navigational Canal for the following two months.  Traffic will be controlled on both sides of the bridge by use of barricades, digital signs, and both TPSO/HPD units.  Increased use of the Houma Twin Spans is encouraged.  We are asking the public to be patient during these next four months while the LADOTD does necessary maintenance work on the aforementioned bridges forcing their closures.  See the below maps for traffic control details.  

The plans are as follow:

East Tunnel photo: LADOTD has provided barricades to assist in improving the flow of traffic. Barricades will be placed in the turning lanes along Tunnel Boulevard between the Houma Intracoastal Waterway Tunnel and Grand Caillou Road which will not allow vehicles to make U-turns or crossover. This action will allow traffic to flow in both directions. Traffic will also be redirected at the intersection of Beatrice Street and Tunnel Boulevard to be able to allow the continuous flow.

West Tunnel photo: A barricade will be used to redirect traffic at the intersection of Honduras Street and Division Avenue to be able to allow the continuous flow of traffic into the westside entrance of the tunnel.  This location will be evaluated daily.

Howard Avenue Bridge photo: A barricade will be used to redirect traffic at the intersection of Main Street and Howard Avenue. No traffic will be allowed to travel westbound on Main Street towards Grand Caillou Road. All traffic will have to turn north or south onto Howard Avenue. This location will be evaluated daily.

Grand Caillou Road and Park Avenue photo:  Barricades and traffic cones will be used to redirect traffic in the following directions. No traffic will be allowed to travel southbound onto Grand Caillou Road from Park Avenue. The northbound inside traffic lane on Grand Caillou Road will turn left onto the Park Avenue overpass. The northbound outside traffic lane on Grand Caillou Road will turn right onto Park Avenue. Finally, the westbound traffic on Park Avenue will continuously flow. This location will be evaluated daily.

Grand Caillou Road and Main Street photo: Barricades and traffic cones will be used to redirect traffic in the following directions. All traffic from the Main Street overpass will make a right turn onto Grand Caillou Road. All Northbound traffic on Grand Caillou Road will continuously flow towards Park Avenue. No traffic will be allowed westbound on Main Street. This location will be evaluated daily.

Morning traffic will be evaluated between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Some of the above plans may need to be implemented.

The afternoon traffic will be evaluated between the hours of 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. with some or all of these traffic plans implemented.

Additional Information

• East Tunnel

• Grand Caillou Road and Main Street

• Grand Caillou Road and Park Avenue

• Howard Avenue Bridge

• West Tunnel