WEST BATON ROUGE - DOTD announced Tuesday rubber ramps have been installed on the Intracoastal Bridge in an attempt to ease drivers' commutes.

The ramps will assist drivers with "a smoother transition on and off the plates, which are being used to cover the bridge joints that were removed and to reduce congestion created by travelers slowing down to approach the plates."

Over the weekend, crews completed repairing some of the joints beneath the bridge and removed the steel plates from the main travel lanes, with the only remaining plates covering the joints between the northbound lanes.

Small back-up on the Intracoastal right now as DOTD is checking the rubber mats on the steel plates. People have been complaining that they are popping up. Otherwise, traffic has been flowing smoothly. pic.twitter.com/t06jyFZ3SE

— Bess Casserleigh (@BCasserleigh) March 12, 2019

Tuesday, the plates were installed once again with rubberized road ramps.

Last week, officials announced plans to begin implementing traffic mitigation measures on the Intracoastal Bridge to assist with a smoother transition and address traffic congestion.

These measures include:

-A width reduction on the steel plates covering the holes in order to contain the plates to one travel lane. This will allow drivers to travel in one lane without having to travel over the plates.

-Offering the contractor an extra shift of work time previously not available on Sundays so they can work with a lane closed from 7 p.m. Saturday night until 4 a.m. Monday morning.

-Limiting the number of joints that can be removed at one time to six until we determine the impact of the changes.

DOTD said crews are still working on the joints on the northbound side of LA 1. Currently, six joints have been completed out of 57 that will be replaced along the stretch of roadway. 

Alternating lane closures will continue nightly from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m.