The final phase of the $125 million project to connect Armstrong International Airport to local roadways opened yesterday, one day earlier than scheduled according to the Department of Transportation and Development.
The diverging diamond interchange under I-10 at Loyola Drive, the first of its kind in Louisiana, is intended to prevent the congestion that occurs when cars attempt to turn left across the traffic coming the other way. It does so by briefly crossing the lanes themselves, eliminating the need for left-turning cars to cross oncoming traffic to get onto the interstate.
DOTD said last week that work will continue for several months around the interchange but it is not expected to impact traffic. Medians, signs and a new walkway are expected to be finished in the first half of next year.
Earlier this month, two flyover lanes that connect I-10 to the airport also opened.
