Lake Pontchartrain Causeway commuters should see the new year get off to a good start with an expanded north shore toll plaza.
At some point in January, bridge General Manager Carlton Dufrechou tells The Times-Picayune a fifth tollbooth and lane should be open for business at the Mandeville end of the bridge, helping the flow of traffic getting onto the 24-mile span.
Dufrechou says the additional tollbooth, along with an extended canopy, will allow motorists to utilize an existing fifth lane that has been used only for the occasional oversized vehicle.
He says the $1.1 million project, which got started in late July, won't be entirely completed until April.