PORT ALLEN - West Baton Rouge Parish leaders will pony up money to solve a traffic nightmare on the west side of the river.

Thursday, the council agreed to putting up 20% of the cost associated with building a highway connecting La 1 and La 415. The project is on a wish list of projects managed by the state.

"I believe it will help. It will divert traffic off (La 1) through the other way," a driver said.

The proposed highway will wind through fields between La 415 toward La 1. It would cross the Intracoastal Waterway and connected to La 1 south of the Intracoastal Bridge.

DOTD would not comment specifically on the plan Thursday, but said parish and private partnerships with the state have helped on other projects before.

"There are a lot of moving parts to any project and each one is its own entity," a spokesperson said in an email.

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