A major development plan is in the works for Congress St.

Frequent travelers can expect to see a very different look on the section of Congress from University to Third Street in just a few months.

Downtown officials said the speed limit could even be reduced as low as 25 miles per hour.

“One of the biggest issues on Congress is the speed. There’s not that much traffic on the downtown section of Congress, but the cars do move very quickly,” said Geoff Dyer, Downtown Development Design Director.

The re-striping project has been in the works for years. The goal is to create a street that would signal drivers to move more slowly due to high-speed traffic.

Dyer tells KLFY’s Jazmin Thibodeaux, the intersection of Congress and Lafayette Streets has become very dangerous.

“It’s not safe for vehicles, it’s not safe for pedestrians. It’s very difficult to cross. It’s a barrier to the neighborhoods around the downtown.”

The plan is to reduce Congress from five lanes to three lanes.

“The additional area on the street we’re going to turn over to a bike lane so we could plug this into the bike-way network in Lafayette.”

Dyer added there will also be on-street parking along Congress.

This is a plan, one business owner in the area, Bob Langlinais, is unsure about, “I don’t know if it’s going to help or hurt. You know I just think that the traffic is going to back up.”

Dyer said this is just one of many re-striping projects in the works. It is set to begin in May. He said it is expected to be completed within a week.