BATON ROUGE - Since the announcement of a widening project that will reduce I-10 to just two lanes in each direction between the I-10/110 split and Acadian Thruway, DOTD has been the subject of major public scrutiny.

The concern and confusion prompted DOTD to release this video that highlights what the agency says will be the progress after the pain.

The department says the anticipation of weather delays recently led them to add an extra two months to the project timeline, meaning the construction could take up to 14 months.

"That's the plan for a year, but what we're doing is telling everyone 14 months, or a little more than a year, because we know that there are going to be weather days. We see that in every one of our projects," said Rodney Mallett with DOTD.

Despite the inconvenience for thousands of drivers over an extended period of time, DOTD says the alternative would have been even more time-consuming and costly.

"If we condense these lanes to two lanes in each direction, one on the flyover, we do that for a year, then we can finish the bridge to Acadian in four years instead of eight years, and we can save 50 million dollars," Mallett said.

With the start date in 2024 steadily approaching, DOTD is asking drivers to plan ahead — whether it be working remotely or changing commute times.

"It's going to be important for people to telecommute and have off schedules," Mallett said.

Click here to view the plans for the I-10 widening project.