BY DOUG GRAHAM | Staff writer Smoother ride?: The recently completed Advanced Traffic Management Center, a MOVEBR project, uses 176 miles of fiber-optic lines to synchronize traffic lights in real time, allowing traffic engineers to swiftly adjust signals in emergencies, planned road closures and other major events. "It is really paying off. It has changed the way that we respond to complaints, but also to congestion and respond to the traffic," says Chief Traffic Engineer Cyndi Pennington. Read more about the $40 million facility. Superfund cleanup: Devil's Swamp is a 12-square-mile freshwater swamp along the east bank of the Mississippi River just north of downtown Baton Rouge. It has been contaminated with a variety of toxic chemicals, including cancer-causing PCBs, since the 1960s. Federal officials and the companies now responsible for the site recently reached a deal on a $3.2 million cleanup effort. Read what it could mean for the area. Tiger rap: LSU basketball standout Flau'jae Johnson made a music video of her new song with Lil Wayne, "Came Out a Beast." And, of course, Tigers coach Kim Mulkey makes an appearance in the video. Read how this happened. |