0:00
33:22
Today we welcome Warren Abadie, Director of Traffic, Roads and Bridges for Lafayette Consolidated Government (LCG). A Lafayette native, Warren has spent his entire career with LCG, steadily rising through the ranks after graduating from UL Lafayette in 2003 with a degree in electrical engineering (computer option). He started as an engineer aide, moved on to traffic maintenance supervisor, traffic signal/system engineer, and city-parish transportation engineer before being appointed director in 2020.
“I affectionately refer to myself as the director of misery and unhappiness,” Warren joked, but his love for his job is clear. He explained that a professor once told him, “Your first job will determine your whole career,” and in his case, that proved true. His engineering background in coding and electrical systems naturally aligned with his first promotion into traffic signals.
Managing 190 Traffic Signals Across the City
Warren oversees a vast system of about 190 traffic signals, many of which LCG maintains through agreements with the state.
He explained how the signal network functions:
“If you’re on a minor street at a major street, it’s going to feel like the signal is taking forever. A minute in your car feels more like five minutes. But we run the system as a network. All the signals on Pinhook have to have the same cycle length… so there’s some inefficiencies there. But the main street always takes precedence.”
With a central server syncing up internal clocks, Warren and his team can monitor complaints in real time, using traffic cameras and logs to identify problems, often adjusting signals remotely:
“We’re always tinkering. We’re always changing. We’re always trying to make 10 pounds of fluff fit in a 5-pound bag.”
Balancing Capacity, Convenience, and Safety
Warren described the essence of traffic engineering as a balancing act:
“Traffic engineering is a balance of three things. Capacity. Convenience. And safety. If safety was first, your car wouldn’t go more than five miles an hour… If it was all about convenience, there’d be no pavement markings on the road. And if it was all about capacity, I wouldn’t allow left turns on signals.”
This balance is one reason he strongly supports roundabouts, which check all three boxes by being safer, more efficient, and accommodating U-turns. He acknowledged, however, that roundabouts are more difficult to design and build, and some—like the Ridge Road and Rue de Belier roundabout—are already over capacity, with plans in place for upgrades.
Traffic Growth and New Projects
“Traffic is a sign of economic activity and growth,” Warren noted, pointing out Lafayette is one of the few parishes in Louisiana still growing. He listed several new roundabout projects in the works, including:
Broussard and Robley
West Broussard and Duhon (near Acadian Village)
Ridge and Domingue Road
Rue de Belier and Ridge (expansion to multi-lane)
Vincent Road in Broussard
LA 92 and East Broussard (toward Milton)
Safety, Motorcycles, and Crash Data
As a father, Warren is deeply concerned about motorcycles:
“Don’t let anybody you love drive a motorcycle because your target value is just too small and the margin for error is just way too small. It’s exciting, but the reality is there’s just not any room for error.”
His department continually analyzes crash data and works to balance safety with traffic flow, noting that signals reduce deadly right-angle crashes but often lead to an increase in rear-end crashes—generally less severe.
Road Repairs and Infrastructure Challenges
Road work is another part of Warren’s responsibility, and he was candid about the frustrations drivers feel:
“Everything we do day to day requires the use of that system. Generally, the roads are already congested. Now I got to fix it and make them more congested. It’s not something we take lightly.”
More episodes from "Discover Lafayette"
Don't miss an episode of “Discover Lafayette” and subscribe to it in the GetPodcast app.
