KEY TAKEAWAYS: MSY breaks ground on $84.5M dedicated shuttle connector road. Project aims to cut shuttle travel times roughly in half. Largely funded by FAA grants through infrastructure law. Road designed to support future rail and transit expansion.   When Kevin Dolliole walks the con courses at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, he makes a point of talking with employees who use the facility every day. One recent encounter stuck with MSY’s director of aviation as construction begins on a significant infrastructure project. “Months ago, I met an airline employee and described to her how we were building a dedicated roadway to decrease the time it takes for her to get from her car to the airport, and how this one road will just improve shuttle efficiency for all our customers and employees,” said Dolliole. That conversation came full circle days ago. “After our talk, that same employee saw me, and she made it a point to come up to me and thank me because she could see the construction work starting to take place,” Dolliole said. “She said, ‘It’s starting to happen; it’s exciting!’ I laughed, and I said, ‘Yes, it’s happening, and it’s going to be great for everyone.’” MSY has broken ground on an $84.5 million express shuttle connector road that will create a dedicated shuttle roadway linking the economy garage, employee garage, and rental car center on the airport’s south campus directly to the terminal on the north campus, eliminating the need for shuttle buses to navigate public streets. Currently, shuttle buses must travel on Veterans Blvd. and Bainbridge Road – passing through traffic lights in each direction – which may create delays and unpredictable travel times during peak periods. With the express shuttle connector road, shuttle trips that now take between 14 and 18 minutes are expected to be significantly reduced to a conservative estimate of 7 to 10 minutes, or even best case scenario, 5 to 7 minutes, said Dolliole. “This is a transformative infrastructure investment that will directly benefit the almost 9,000 daily users of our shuttle system, making ride times faster, more efficient, and more reliable, and our shuttle transportation services more cost-effective overall,” Dolliole said. The roadway project is being funded largely by $65 million from Federal Aviation Administration grants through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. “We are excited that after years of planning and collaboration with our federal partners, airport leadership, and board members, that construction work has started,” Dolliole said. default Dolliole said everything has gone smoothly beginning with the funding being secured, all permits approved, the foundation work being completed with utility lines relocated and drainage installed to support the roadway, and now the construction work has begun, such as the laying of the asphalt. The project is being built in two phases. Phase one, to be completed by the end of 2026, includes construction of the north end of the roadway, which will allow shuttles to bypass the traffic lights on Veterans Blvd. Phase two, scheduled for completion by the end of 2027, will focus on the southern portion of the roadway near the former terminal and Airline Hwy. “We do not anticipate any major hurdles or disruptions, as the project has been carefully planned in phases,” Dolliole said. “Phase one creates an independent pathway on the northern half of the roadway, separate from the work that will occur during phase two on the southern half.” The connector road is also intended to support future transportation options, including a planned Baton Rouge-New Orleans passenger rail service with a stop near the airport’s south campus. In the long term, the road could serve as a foundation for additional transit solutions such as light rail or autonomous vehicle systems linking the airport’s north and south campuses. In terms of visibility, the MSY express shuttle connector roadway may look like a normal road, but it will be a road of tremendous value and impact to the New Orleans airport, Dolliole said. “We are on our way to creating a dedicated roadway that bypasses surface street traffic, improves efficiency, and builds the infrastructure backbone for the next generation of airport connectivity.” ...read more read less