BATON ROUGE - Starting Monday, October 2, drivers will finally be able to use Oklahoma Street once again after construction shut down the roadway for over a year.

However, that road reopening comes at a cost. The same day, a small section of Terrace Avenue between Highland and Nicholson will be closed. 

From that point on, drivers coming from Highland Road will completely lose access to Terrace Avenue. The I-10 EB exit ramp at Highland/Nicholson will not be affected for the time being. 

In the future, that exit ramp will be modified for traffic from I-10 EB to flow onto Oklahoma Street instead of Terrace. Rodney Mallet, a spokesperson for LaDOTD, says this reconfiguration will give drivers easier access to major attractions and improve traffic conditions during LSU game days. 

"[The new design] provides you access to Nicholson, much easier access to River Road, the water institute, LSU, downtown, all of that," Mallett said. 

A minor downside to this project is that drivers will no longer be able to turn left onto Terrace Avenue from the I-10 exit ramp because that ramp will have a raised median, dividing that pathway from drivers going the same direction on Highland Road.

Mallett says, the pros still outweigh the cons. This project will also bring improvements to Nicholson Drive, where crews are currently working on patching the roadway. 

"They're gonna have to finish the overlay on Nicholson, they're gonna have to finish the drainage, the sidewalks."

By the middle of next year, Mallett says the project should be complete.