Woodworth News

The fishing stock in Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge will increase by 50,000 today when 50,000 largemouth bass fingerlings are released in it.

Also, an I-49 project costing nearly $3 million will begin Tuesday and will lead to periodic lane closures in Alexandria for about two weeks.

Donald Pickney was indicted Thuesday on a second-degree murder charge by a Rapides Parish grand jury in the October 2011 death of his wife, who according to civil court records was held captive and possibly tortured for one to two days before she died.

Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development officials say removing a crossover interchange on U.S. Highway 165 in Woodworth is the safest option to take to accommodate a new junior high school that will open in the fall. DOTD officials have proposed removing an interchange at Coulee Crossing Road near the new Caroline J. Dormon Junior High School that is being constructed. In its place, U-turns will be built both north and south of the current interchange. In response, a group of residents has formed a petition, which has been signed by 238 people, asking DOTD to reconsider its plans and instead install a traffic light at the current interchange. John Sanders, DOTD engineer-administrator for the Shreveport area, said the current plan is the best option for moving traffic safely and efficiently. 'The plans for Coulee Crossing are the safest alternative to mitigate the additional traffic on U.S. 165 that will be generated by the construction of the new Caroline J. Dormon Junior High School,' Sanders said. 'Louisiana DOTD had no input regarding establishing this school along a primary arterial divided four-lane highway, but we are here to make sure that traffic to and from this school gets there safely without reducing the capacity of our highway system.' The U-turn option is safer than a traffic signal, Sanders said, because it will reduce the possibility of right-angle crashes, head-on collisions, opposing left-turn crashes and rear-end accidents on the highway. Providing dedicated turning lanes -- both for U-turns and into the new school and Coulee Crossing Road -- gives drivers safer options while traveling both northbound and southbound on the highway, he said. The proposed traffic light -- built in conjunction with a second entrance to the school at the current interchange -- 'is not a good solution,' Sanders said. Not only would it increase the chances of accidents, but the location also doesn't have enough traffic to warrant a signal, according to the Federal Highway Administration's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. The manual states that at least 150 vehicles must exit from Coulee Crossing every hour for eight consecutive hours to warrant a signal, Sanders said. 'By installing unwarranted signals, unnecessary delays, increased travel time and general disrespect for signals are created,' he said. Keeping the status quo, however, also isn't the right option, Sanders said, because the new school is expected to increase the volume of traffic by nearly 350 vehicles before and after school, which would cause 'a very unsafe condition' if the interchange remains open and unsignalized. The current DOTD plan is the most efficient one, Sanders said, because it doesn't affect motorists on U.S. 165 and can be controlled with a 45 mph speed zone during peak traffic times before and after school. 'While school traffic is only significant twice daily, during these two times it will add more traffic onto U.S. 165 than Coulee Crossing does for the entire day,' Sanders said. 'Also, it is a more serious issue because these vehicles are added to the system in two 30-minute blocks, instead of being spread out over a 24-hour period. ... Additionally, this plan more effectively and efficiently facilitates the flow of traffic entering the system from the school and from Coulee Crossing.'

Residents opposed to a Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development proposal to remove an interchange near Coulee Crossing Road in Woodworth, close to the site of a school being constructed, have started a petition drive to change the proposal.