DENHAM SPRINGS, LA (WAFB) -
Up to 85,000 vehicles use Interstate 12 between Baton Rouge and Livingston every day. Many drivers are all too familiar with sitting in traffic, sometimes for hours at end.
"When there are lane closures and what not, it might take me up to an hour and a half," said Ray Tse, who commutes from Denham Springs to Baton Rouge every day.
Tse attended an open house put on by the Department of Transportation and Development to find out when he could go back to using the interstate to get to work, since he uses Florida Blvd. now.
The two projects between O'Neal Ln. and Range Ave. and then from Range Ave. to Juban Rd. are well underway. The latest phase will be 3.2 miles and is part three of the I-12 expansion project. It will run from Juban Rd. to the Walker exit and expand from two to three lanes on both sides.
"There are lots of cars going in and out of Baton Rouge. It's a major artery into the city so this is just going to relieve the congestion, get people to their end place faster and improve safety all at the same time," said DOTD's Jodi Conachen.
Conachen said crews are required to maintain two lanes of traffic at all times, and they're trying to work around the rush hour crowd.
"We push all of our construction to night closures for night events and weekends," said Conachen.
The first two phases between O'Neal Ln. and Juban Rd. are expected to finish up by late spring/early summer this year. The latest phase will be ready to go by mid-2013.
A fourth expansion is in the planning phase now. It'll stretch from Walker toward Satsuma and is expected to begin mid-2013.
Copyright 2012 WAFB. All rights reserved.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2012 WorldNow and WAFB, a Raycom Media Station. 