City of Lake Charles and LADOTD Provide Overview and Update of Sallier Street Corridor Project

Lake Charles, Louisiana - The City of Lake Charles and LADOTD have provided an overview and update of the Sallier Street Corridor Project.

The City of Lake Charles, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD), and the Port of Lake Charles are providing an overview of current projects as well as one more project planned for the Sallier Street corridor in the coming years.

All three of these developments have the goal of helping to relieve traffic congestion in the Nelson Road and Prien Lake Road Corridor area while also establishing a new gateway to Downtown Lake Charles. These initiatives will also make it safer for walkers and bicycles to traverse through the city since they contain shared-use paths.

DOTD started construction on their project, a $101.7 million bridge and extension that would connect Nelson Road and West Sallier Street through a bridge, in February 2023.
The project's impact on local traffic will be modest.

Work has begun with preliminary site work and is projected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026, weather permitting.

“The bridge and extension of Nelson Road will provide a north-south connection for this growing area of Southwest Louisiana,” said DOTD District 07 Administrator Seth Woods. “Improving travel for residents is happening because DOTD, the Port of Lake Charles and the City of Lake Charles are willing to work together. This project has been needed for many years, and it’s encouraging to see it finally get underway.”

The Port of Lake Charles is now embarking on a $5.8 million project to relocate the railway, which is currently on the south side of West Sallier Street. The rail will be relocated to the northern side of the road as part of this project. Riverside Drive will become a dead-end cul-de-sac at its current intersection with West Sallier Street as a result of this. Riverside Drive at West Sallier Street will be closed beginning Monday, March 27, 2023.

Aside from the closure of Riverside Drive at West Sallier Street, the project's impact on local traffic will be modest.
This project is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024, weather permitting.

“This project has been in the works for some time and the Port of Lake Charles is happy to partner with DOTD and the City of Lake Charles to move a portion of the rail to the north side of Sallier Street as well as provide 18 acres of ROW for the bridge and road expansion,” said Thomas Lorenzi, Port of Lake Charles Board President.

The City of Lake Charles is anticipated to solicit bids on a project that will entail the reconstruction of West Sallier Street from the end of the Nelson Road Extension project to Lake Street in the fourth quarter of this year. This will result in a three-lane road as well as an additional shared-use walkway for pedestrians and cyclists. The project also includes the reconstruction of the Lake and West Sallier Street intersection.

Construction is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2024 and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2025, weather permitting.

“We are thrilled to see these three, long-awaited and generational impact projects coming to fruition,” said Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter. “Once complete, they will create new opportunities for growth and development, and make our roads safer for motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists. We thank the State of Louisiana, our delegation, DOTD and the Port of Lake Charles for their partnership in these endeavors. Projects like these simply don’t happen without partnerships.”