Author(s)

TOM SAMMONS, KARI SMITH, KIWANA MCCLUNG, ASHLIE LATIOLAIS, CATHRYN CORE

Abstract

The I-49 Connector project is a major highway development plan that arose due to the need for continuous access between an interstate route and a Federal-Aid highway system. The project is a part of a proposed North American Free Trade (NAFTA) highway that will span continuously from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada to New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Currently, Interstate 49 transitions to surface streets at the Interstate 10 intersection in Lafayette, Louisiana and continues in this manner for several miles where the eastbound surface streets then transition into US Highway 90. Connecting Interstate 10 and Highway 90 into a continuous arterial will link two economically beneficial interstate routes, and concurrently provide citizens of southern Louisiana with a safe and effective route during emergency evacuations. Since the initial public hearings in 1992, the Community Design Workshop (CDW) within the School of Architecture and Design at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette has worked diligently to generate ideas to serve the project.

Keywords

urban planning, architectural education, public planning methodologies, highway, context sensitive solutions, collaboration