Almost four years after Gov. John Bel Edwards announced a funding source to cover the cost of widening Interstate 10 through the heart of Baton Rouge, the state is finalizing its construction plans for the project.
But while the widening is set to begin in just a little over a year—early 2023 is the current groundbreaking date—and construction of a related project, the College Drive flyover ramp, is already underway, there is an unsettling lack of clarity around key questions about how the chronically congested Capital Region will handle the yearslong project.
Among the still unanswered questions:
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• What will construction mean for the homes and businesses under the elevated portions of the highway?
• If it takes five years, as anticipated, to widen the first segment of the first phase of I-10, how long will the entire project take?
• How much highway will be torn up and blocked off at one time?
• What about traffic? Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Shawn Wilson has discussed shortening the workweek for state employees to four, 10-hour days. But what will that mean for parents who have kids in school or day care?
• What kinds of alternate routes on the ground will the state mandate or suggest for motorists?
• Is there enough funding to complete the entire 4-mile stretch of the project?
The DOTD says it doesn’t have those answers yet and is still trying to figure out the details.
“We will let you know as they become available,” DOTD spokesperson Rodney Mallet says. “We are always trying to minimize the impacts on the traveling public.”
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But that’s not good enough for some business owners, who are worried about the impact of the project on their livelihoods and are frustrated by what feels like a lack of transparency around what will be the biggest disruption the city-parish has experienced in recent times.
Read the full story about the project and its implications from the latest edition of Business Report. Send comments to [email protected].
This story originally appeared in a Dec. 10 issue of Daily Report. To keep up with Baton Rouge business and politics, subscribe to the free Daily Report e-newsletter here.