KENNER, La. — The area around the road to the new airport terminal was a mess at the height of rush hour Wednesday
“You got 5 o'clock traffic mixed in with people coming to the airport,” said Kenner resident Larry Grant.
Cars were as far as the eye could see near Veterans and Loyola, where a new temporary road runs into the new terminal. Traffic also spilled into nearby neighborhoods.
“It’s mayhem!” said another resident, Bryant Snipes.
Part of the reason for the hold up could do with the timing of the lights.
“We have been monitoring it since 6 o’clock this morning,” said DOTD secretary, Dr. Shawn Wilson. “We have had engineers on site. They will be here all week making sure the timing is working.”
Wilson spent the afternoon watching the traffic and says when it is not rush hour things are running pretty smoothly. According to Wilson, it will be a night and day difference when the permanent solution, the new Loyola flyover project, is complete at the end of 2022.
“If you can imagine, the vast majority of traffic you see today coming in and out of the airport will be on a dedicated lane to and from the interstate so the local traffic should be reduced from what it is today,” Wilson said.
As far as noise is concerned -- DOTD says the flight paths have not changed, so any noise neighbors may be hearing is likely from taxiing planes.
The traffic being generated by the new MSY was factored into the environmental assessments, that’s why there are noise walls as part of the interchange. There are also noise walls on the new airport access road.
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