DOTD opens a portion of widened I-10

More than a year after it was first scheduled to be complete, the widened stretch of Interstate 10 between the I-10/Interstate 12 split and Siegen Lane officially opened today, says the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. The $86.2 million project, which began in 2009, expands the freeway from four to six lanes in both directions. In 2011, DOTD replaced the lead contractor on the project, from Austin Bridge & Road Inc. to Boh Bros. Construction of New Orleans. The project is part of the $315 million Geaux Wider program, an ongoing development that will revamp I-10 and I-12 in East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes. DOTD says drivers can expect I-10 work to continue between Siegen Lane and Highland Road, where additional widening to six lanes is expected to be complete this spring. That project has a $60 million price tag. The widening is expected to ease traffic along a four-mile stretch of roadway that is used by an estimated 73,000 motorists every day. Last June, the state finished widening I-12 between O’Neal Lane and Juban Road for $146 million. Work continues in that corridor to finish the widening to Walker, and plans call for further widening to Satsuma in the future.