BATON ROUGE - House lawmakers advanced a bill Thursday that addresses a lingering concern from the 2016 flood.

The proposal would force DOTD to make changes to the barriers along I-12, which many believe acted as a levee and stopped water from flowing during the historic flood.

The matter is the subject of an ongoing lawsuit filed on behalf of multiple cities in the northern part in Livingston Parish against DOTD. A judge ruling over the case says those concrete barriers likely contributed to flooding in and around the I-12 corridor during that time.

"The interstate barrier compounded the flooding on the north side. Particularly in the Denham Springs and Walker area," said State Rep. Buddy Mincey Jr., who is sponsoring the bill. 

In 2020, Mincey began discussions with DOTD about the barriers and asked them to look for a solution that would allow water to flow through them. DOTD was given two years to perform studies and come up with a fix.

"After that two years, the study came back and it didn't have any viable solutions. So now I'm back to square one, passing a bill to try to make them give us a solution," Mincey said.

DOTD released the following statement to WBRZ on Thursday, but would not make anyone available for an on-camera interview.

"Because of ongoing litigation, we can’t comment on the bill. However, we can say that the unprecedented rain from the 1,000-year flood in 2016 caused extensive damage throughout the state. DOTD’s No. 1 priority is the safety of the traveling public. The concrete barriers are effective safety tools that eliminate crossover crashes in heavy-traffic areas where vehicles typically travel at 70 miles per hour. Safety barriers constructed on Louisiana interstates are designed and constructed according to national standards," said DOTD.

The bill mandating changes to the barriers will now head to the Senate. If approved, it must be signed by the governor.