Audubon Blvd’s New Turning Lanes
LA-DOTD reconfiguring the Claiborne-Audubon Blvd. intersection
March 15, 2026
Reporting by Tim G.
Heavy machinery and barricades dot the South Claiborne Avenue neutral ground at Audubon Boulevard, where two channelized left turn lanes are being installed. The same contractor – Kort’s Construction Services, Inc. of Covington – will also grade and landscape the site before reopening it to traffic some time later this month.
By easing the original layout’s unusually sharp turning angle, vehicles (including heavy trucks and buses) may finally initiate turns without slowing to a near stop, significantly reducing the risk of rear-end collision. Likewise, drivers need not crane their necks to watch for a break in traffic. Conversely, to the chagrin of some residents, notably university students and faculty members, the new layout (depicted at right) does not allow Audubon traffic to proceed directly across Claiborne.
The widely swept turn lanes (photo below) have been outfitted with low-profile curbing as prescribed by Louisiana’s Standard Specifications for Roads and Bridges, whose chapters govern everything from materials selection to site lighting, proper signage and cleanup procedures. (UPDATE: More than once a car has traveled over these unfamiliar curbs and onto the median.) DOTD guidelines also require an analysis of crash history and potential conflict points, followed by a traffic study to assess such factors as volume, speed and peak usage times.
West-facing view of concrete curbs and new crosswalk along the South Claiborne Avenue neutral ground
This project is part of the nationwide Strategic Highway Safety Plan, a subset of the Federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (23 USC 148) enacted in 1973 and amended several times since, culminating with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. Among its many provisions, “The Vulnerable Road User Safety Assessment” evaluates each state to improve the safety of non-motorists, such as pedestrians, bicyclists, and persons with disabilities. Louisiana initiated hundreds of similar roadway enhancements over the past year.
The Claiborne-Audubon intersection improvement job (LA-DOTD H.016043) was put out for bid late last year, funded under the Louisiana Highway Safety Improvement Program. Currently in its final stage of implementation, the contract’s roughly $445,000 cost exceeds its initial $300,000 to $420,000 estimates, according to online documentation.
A wide sidewalk (highlighted in blue) has been added in alignment with both existing corner bus stops, yielding better sight lines as well for cyclists and pedestrians. However, without corresponding curb extensions in place as along other portions of Claiborne/U.S.-90, the 200-foot crossover involves dodging parked cars in addition to six busy lanes.
Wheelchair users must still cope with Claiborne’s fairly steep camber. Designed to shed runoff during rainstorms, the slope presents a formidable uphill challenge, something an ADA compliance review might potentially address.
Click here for an interactive map.
Despite the project's scale, surrounding neighborhoods received no advance warning about its scope or timeline. Several Nextdoor and Facebook commenters expressed their surprise at finding the work already in progress. While DOTD has yet to respond, the lack of official communication understandably causes some concern.
Traditional City Hall channels—including the public relations unit RoadWorkNOLA (now the Office of Strategic Engagement & Special Projects)—offered no information regarding construction, detours, or the significant impact on local traffic flow. Indeed, of their eight roadwork-related press releases issued in 2025, none touched on this project, nor was it included on OSE’s list of projects city-wide.
Furthermore, due to a jurisdictional loophole — Claiborne is a state highway (US-90), not a city-owned street — the City’s decade-old Neighborhood Participation Program covering land use and zoning does not apply. Thus automatic NoticeMe notifications were never sent to schools, residences or businesses nearest the site, nor were any mandatory NPP stakeholder meetings scheduled, depriving the public of an opportunity to comment on the project’s design or implementation.
Those omissions stand in stark contrast to extensive outreach voluntarily provided by the Corps of Engineers and S&WB while rebuilding the drainage canal beneath the South Claiborne Avenue median, under the Federal SELA flood-control program from 2011 to 2018. Numerous public meetings were held to discuss various phases of work, warn of potential inconveniences, and explain the property damage claims process. Both agencies then followed up with regular newsletters by email and online, helping to set expectations throughout.
Project Manager is Brittany Rooney (Brittany.Rooney@la.gov) at 504-376-0251
HSIP Program Manager is Laura Riggs (laura.riggs@la.gov) 225-379-1143
Contractor: Kort’s Construction Services, Inc, 985-898-0932 kortsconstructionservices.com
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/4aAKOCH
