ENROLLED
2016 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 201
BY REPRESENTATIVE FRANKLIN
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the Department of Transportation and Development to review the
feasibility of installing an additional turning lane at the intersection of United States
Highway 171 North, locally known as Martin Luther King Highway, and Moeling
Street in Calcasieu Parish and to report its findings to the House Committee on
Transportation, Highways and Public Works and the member of the House of
Representatives representing House District Number 34 on or before March 1, 2017.
WHEREAS, state and local governments strive to protect motorists and enhance
safety on roads, streets, and highways of the state, particularly the roads, streets, and
highways that experience an increased volume of traffic; and
WHEREAS, the intersection of United States Highway 171, which runs north to
south, and Moeling Street, which runs east to west, is adjacent to the intersection of United
States Highway 171 and Interstate 10 and is situated at the bottom of an overpass; and
WHEREAS, the intersection experiences such heavy traffic congestion that a number
of motorists attempting to turn left on Moeling Street from United States Highway 171 North
are forced to drive through the intersection, make a left turn farther down United States
Highway 171, and travel south to make a right turn on Moeling Street; and
WHEREAS, traffic approaching and attempting to turn left on Moeling Street from
United States Highway 171, in the north-bound lane, is stagnant, which has caused heavy
delays and an increased number of motor vehicle accidents to occur; and
WHEREAS, turning lanes are designed to enhance highway safety, increase road
capacity, facilitate orderly movement of traffic, and reduce traffic delays and accidents; and
WHEREAS, turning lanes substantially reduce crashes by fifty percent and reduce
rear-end collisions by seventy-five percent on average; and
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WHEREAS, the intersection of United States Highway 171 and Moeling Street is
heavily traveled and an additional turning lane would alleviate traffic congestion and provide
easier and safer travel to motorists.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the Department of Transportation and
Development to review the feasibility of installing an additional turning lane at the
intersection of United States Highway 171 North and Moeling Street in Calcasieu Parish.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation and
Development shall consider traffic patterns, traffic volume, traffic speed, road features
including curves and visibility, and whether fewer forms of traffic control would be
effective.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation and
Development shall report its findings to the House Committee on Transportation, Highways
and Public Works and to the member of the House of Representatives representing House
District Number 34 on or before March 1, 2017.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
secretary of the Department of Transportation and Development.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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