Mayor Holden Celebrates Completion of $27.8M Staring Lane Project

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

Good news for drivers going through East Baton Rouge Parish. Mayor-President Melvin L. “Kip” Holden hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony on July 9, at the General Assembly Church of Baton Rouge, at 420 Staring Lane, to mark the completion of the Staring Lane project. At a cost of $27.8 million, the project is one of the largest road construction projects included within the Green Light Plan.

J.B. James Construction, L.L.C. developed the project. It called for the transformation of Staring Lane from a two-lane, undivided roadway to a four-lane roadway stretching from Perkins Road to Highland Road. And the project took into account the needs of pedestrians as well. In order to improve pedestrian access, six-foot sidewalks were added on each side of the roadway. Other improvements included a raised grass median, upgraded traffic signals, and easier access at key intersections along Staring Lane.

“Staring Lane is one of the busiest roadways in East Baton Rouge Parish and has been in desperate need of capacity improvements for many years,” Mayor Holden said in a statement for the press. “This is a project that was a top priority to complete and ties into a number of other improvements in and around the area, like the Staring Lane Extension – another project completed through the Green Light Plan. The end result is a wider, safer and greatly improved Staring Lane that will serve the citizens of Baton Rouge for many years to come.”

The $27.8 million also featured a number of critical sewer system upgrades as well as the renovation of old and potentially unsafe bridges across East Baton Rouge Parish. The bridge over Dawson Creek was replaced with two new bridges. This change will help accommodate southbound and northbound traffic along Staring Lane.