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DOTD meeting with stakeholders to discuss traffic mitigation during I-10 widening

1 year 9 months 3 weeks ago Thursday, June 02 2022 Jun 2, 2022 June 02, 2022 9:43 PM June 02, 2022 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - Big changes are coming to I-10 at the site of multiple choke points causing daily traffic jams.

"The number one complaint that we've had about any traffic issue in the state has been the curve that was built in 1960 at I-10," said Rodney Mallett with DOTD. "So when it was built, it wasn't the problem that it is now."

During the upcoming widening project, one of the most heavily traveled parts of the interstate will be reduced from two lanes to one near the Mississippi River Bridge.

"Congestion is terrible right now," Mallett said. "It's going to be worse than it is now in about a year."

That's why DOTD has been meeting with multiple state agencies and private industries to discuss traffic mitigation measures during that timeframe. The Louisiana Chemical Association, Amazon, and the Louisiana Motor Transportation Association are a few entities that have met with DOTD already.

Taking alternate routes, changing work and delivery times, and working from home are at the forefront of the conversation.

"We're going to be having some lane shifts," Mallett said. "We're going to go down to two lanes in each direction at one point and people need to be prepared for this. We're asking if you can help mitigate congestion by changing your work times or telecommuting or delivery times, then that would be beneficial for everybody on the roadways."

Although construction is two years away from starting, DOTD says it is never too early to start planning.

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