I-10 Lane adjustment @ Elevated I-10 Claiborne Expressway bridge

Some of this may help solve issues with the Claiborne Flyover bridge.

I am not going to actually discuss the removal of the Elevated I-10 Claiborne Expressway bridge– See why in the conclusion paragraph of this post.

Instead, I am going to address improvements to the traffic flow. Most of the improvements to traffic flow are with the idea that through I-10 traffic should be going East via I-610. Instead, the traffic on I-10 over Claiborne should only be in the area to be going downtown. Downtown being the CBD, French Quarter, Tulane, and Treme. Preferial traffic could easily be going to:

• Mid City*
• Bywater*
• lower 9th Ward*
• Uptown/Garden District (including Central City)  via Claiborne South*
  * Much of which can also be gotten to via Carrollton Ave, City Park Ave, Elysian Fields Ave

Now how do we adjust the lanes

• First, heading east on I-10 at the Poydras exit (#234B), the left lane should be EXIT ONLY.  After all we are encouraging people to go Downtown/to the CBD/the Superdome.
• Second, that leaves a single lane of I-10 heading east. This lane becomes the center lane on the Elevated I-10 Claiborne Expressway bridge allowing Lake bound traffic on the Pontchartrain Expressway heading to I-10 east extra room to merge. Thus also allowing Poydras to I-10 east room to merge as well. This also helps solve the issue of Pontchartrain Expressway traffic doing a dangerous merge via the Claiborne Flyover
• Third, is to optionally make the last French Quarter (FQ) exit “exit only”-Esplanade. By making this exit only, it further encourages traffic to flow into Downtown (the FQ). It also encourages those entering I-10 via Poydras and the Pontchartrain Expressway to clear out of the right lane.
  Why is this important? Because there is already so much traffic in the right lane exiting that many people Exiting at Esplanade and Claiborne North stay in the center lane hoping the person next to them exits at Orleans or Esplanade so they have room to get into the right lane.
• Optionally, the exit only at Esplanade could be Claiborne North.

In the end, we have 2 through lanes on I-10 east. With it narrowed down to one lane at Poydras since all traffic should be heading downtown, and reduced traffic along with extended merge lanes helps with over all traffic flow in the area.

Further work can be done by connecting I-610 to the Pontchartrain Expressway. This way CCC traffic does not clog up the Elevated I-10 Claiborne Expressway bridge, and when the bridge is removed, even if its just for repairs/rebuilding, Claiborne and overall traffic is manageable in the area.

The final solution is to put a rail system in.

for or against permanently removing the Elevated I-10 Claiborne Expressway bridge. The damage to the Treme has already been done, and the neighborhood will never be the same. However, with the above suggestions, it should make the preparation for the removal and/or repairs smooth. It leaves the Pontchartrain Expressway (I-910 or I-49) with ramps to South Claiborne (north and southbound), Poydras, and possibly the French Quarter (after all it is a major route to cross Canal During Carnival Season)

Much info can be found on the removal topic by searching Google: Elevated I-10 Claiborne Expressway bridge

• Freeways without futures
• Restoring Claiborne Avenue:Alternatives for the Future of Claiborne Avenue
• NOLA.com – Claiborne Avenue expressway demolition gets support in report
• Facebook Group: Remove the Claiborne Overpass (New Orleans)

Make Poydras exit only on I-10 East (leaving I-10 a single lane)

Single Lane I-10 gives the Pontchartrain Expressway ramp room to merge

Currently you have 5 Lanes of traffic merging into 5, and 3 ramps on top of one another - Plus 4 more less than a mile further

Exit only at Orleans, Esplanade, or N Claiborne -- 4 ramps in less than 3200 feet.