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Officials celebrate completion of I-10 widening project near EBR-Ascension line

3 years 5 months 2 days ago Monday, October 26 2020 Oct 26, 2020 October 26, 2020 8:22 AM October 26, 2020 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - After more than two years of work, as of Monday, Oct. 26 local officials are celebrating the completion of the I-10 expansion near the East Baton Rouge-Ascension line.

An official celebration kicked off at 10 a.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Governor John Bel Edwards. 

Happening Now: Gov. Edwards is participating in a ceremonial ribbon cutting of the I-10 widening project in Baton Rouge.

Posted by Governor John Bel Edwards on Monday, October 26, 2020

“This widening project has been a priority for the state in order to alleviate the traffic congestion for the more than 95,000 motorists who travel this route daily,” said Gov. Edwards. “That number is expected to reach over 110,000 the next 10 years, which is why it was essential to offer additional travel lanes to accommodate this increase in capacity. I’m thankful to everyone involved for their hard work in making this project become a reality. It is one example of how working together can create infrastructure that will improve the quality of life for our citizens and improve our economy.”

The much-anticipated project expands a six-and-a-half-mile stretch of the interstate between Highland Road and the LA 73 interchange in Prairieville from four lanes to six. It also meant the reconstruction of the two bridges on the I-10 overpass above Highland Road, which were replaced with one large overpass that includes three 12-foot travel lanes in each direction, separated by a two-foot barrier.

The LA 928 (Bluff Road) bridge was raised approximately nine inches to comply with updated federal interstate standards.

Construction began in early 2018 with this spring initially targeted as a completion date. But weather and COVID concerns disrupted plans, pushing the completion date to October. 

“We’re excited about that. It’s estimating to save about 15 minutes on commutes from Baton Rouge to Ascension and vice versa,” DOTD Secretary Dr. Shawn Wilson told WBRZ.

The $72 million expansion was executed as a design-build project, a delivery method that allows the contractor and designer to work concurrently. DOTD explained this approach aided in speeding up the process from its planning stages to actual completion.

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