Already slow traffic on Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge will get slower starting Friday.
State officials will be doing surveying work in connection with Gov. John Bel Edwards' $350 million proposal to widen I-10 from the Mississippi River bridge to the I-10/12 split.
Expanding Interstate 10 from the Mississippi River bridge to the I-10/12 split will take at least five years to complete, Louisiana's transpor…
The slowdowns will resemble traffic during a funeral procession, including traffic blockages by police.
No lane closures are planned for the work, which will continue through Monday during non-peak traffic times.
The work is part of the environmental phase for the project, which the governor hopes to finance through federal bonds.
Gov. John Bel Edwards' $600 million plan to widen Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge and other road projects cleared its first hurdle Wednesday.
Crews will be traveling along I-10 from La. 415 to Essen Lane on both I-10 and I-12 scanning the corridor to measure distance by using laser lights that make digital, 3-D representations of the target.
They will be using technology called Mobile Light Detection and Ranging.
"Using the most up-to-date technology not only helps the state make the best decisions possible on major projects such as the I-10 widening in Baton Rouge but also eases some of the inconvenience on area travelers," Shawn Wilson, secretary for the state Department of Transportation and Development, said in a statement.
"Using the Mobile Light Detection and Ranging technology means there are no lane closures, just slow moving traffic at times," Wilson said.
Gov. John Bel Edwards' $350 million plan to widen Interstate 10 from the Mississippi River bridge to the I-10/I-12 split in Baton Rouge has re…
DOTD officials also said the technology, which has been used previously, trims the number of conventional survey crews needed to do the work.
Wilson has said the widening, which includes a new lane in each direction, should begin by 2020 and take at least five years to finish.
Edwards' proposal has been endorsed by the House and Senate transportation committees.
It next the phases review by the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget, possibly this month, and then the State Bond Commission.
Meanwhile, single lane closures are planned for I-10 between Highland Road and La. 73 in suburban Ascension Parish starting Monday as part of the state's $72 million widening project.
On Feb. 19 one lane will be closed on I-10 eastbound between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. through the corridor.
Lane closures are also scheduled in both directions from Feb. 20-22 from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.
On Feb. 23-24 closures are planned in both directions from 9 p.m. until 9 a.m. and on Feb. 25 from 7 p.m. until 5 a.m.