BATON ROUGE - Many Baton Rouge residents are familiar with the humongous pot holes that have plagued the underpass at I-10 and Perkins for years. 

On Wednesday, a contractor began filling in those infamous 'craters' and repaving the parking lots near Duvic's, Ivar's, Chow Yum Phat, and more businesses in that overpass nook.

Rodney Mallett, a spokesperson for DOTD, says the work was never the responsibility of the state. 

"Any parking underneath the interstate is gonna be done with a joint-use agreement with either business owners or a city or a parish otherwise it is illegal. In this situation there are joint use agreements," Mallett said.

In fact, the same contractor over the I-10 widening project, Kiewit Boh, is behind the parking lot improvements. A spokesperson for the company said the work was a "neighborly effort" and paid for out of pocket, at no expense to the state, city or taxpayers. 

But with a major project planned for the area within the next five years, including a total reconstruction of the current overpass structure, will the parking lot improvements be torn up again during that time? Neither DOTD nor Kiewit Boh would provide a straight answer. 

However, DOTD did say the parking lot could become a staging area for heavy equipment during that time. Right now construction on I-10 at Perkins is slated to begin in late 2025 or early 2026.

Once the new overpass is complete, DOTD said the parking lots underneath will be expanded and upgraded lighting.