BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) today advised drivers of upcoming work schedules, from Friday, December 21 through Wednesday, January 2,  for interstate and major road projects throughout Louisiana during the holiday season and for the upcoming bowl games in New Orleans and Shreveport, including the R+L Carriers New Orleans (Saturday, Dec. 22 in New Orleans), the AdvoCare V100 Independence (Friday, Dec. 28 in Shreveport) and the Allstate Sugar (Wednesday, Jan. 2 in New Orleans). 

DOTD Secretary Sherri H. LeBas said, “Our department would like to remind motorists to engage in safe driving practices by obeying all traffic laws.  This means paying attention to posted speed limits, specifically in construction zones, wearing your seatbelt and refraining from drinking while driving.” 

            Below is the regional listing of work schedules and road closures for interstate construction and major road projects.

Southeast Louisiana 

In the New Orleans area, all lanes of I-310, I-510 and I-610 will remain open to traffic.  On I-10, work will cease for the majority of the holiday, but construction will resume on the Veterans Memorial Boulevard to Clearview Parkway segment on Wednesday, January 2.

In the Slidell area, all lanes of I-10, I-12 and I-59 will remain open to traffic.

In the Hammond area, all lanes of I-12 and I-55 will remain open to traffic.

In the greater Baton Rouge area, all lanes of I-12 and I-110 will remain open. On I-10, nightly lane closures will occur from the I-10/I-12 split to Siegen Lane from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Wednesday, December 26 through Thursday, December 27, and on Wednesday, January 2.

In Livingston Parish, La. 1030 (Cockerham Road), between La. 16 and La. 1031, will have intermittent lane closures with flagging operations on Friday, December 21, Wednesday, December 26 through Friday, December 28, and on Monday, December 31.

Additionally, the westbound outside lane of La. 64 and northbound outside lane of La. 37 will be closed from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. daily on Wednesday, December 26 through Friday, December 28.

   Also, in Livingston Parish, La. 1037 will have intermittent lane closures with flagging operations from Wednesday, December 26 through Friday, December 28.

Lastly, in Livingston Parish, Eden Church Road, between U.S. 190 and La. 1026, will have intermittent lane closures with flagging operations on Friday, December 21, and from Wednesday, December 26 through Friday, December 28.

In Ascension Parish, lane closures continue on La. 73, between I-10 and U.S. 61, on U.S. 61, between La. 74 and La. 22, and on U.S. 61 at the intersection of La. 42, from Wednesday, December 26 to Friday, December 28.

Southwest Louisiana 

In the Lafayette area, all lanes of I-10 and I-49 will remain open to traffic.

In Iberia Parish, La. 3156 (Jefferson St. Bridge) will remain closed during the holidays.

In the Lake Charles area, all lanes of I-10 and I-210 will remain open to traffic.

Central Louisiana

In Vernon Parish, La. 469 from La. 28 east to the Fort Polk boundary line, will be closed to through traffic during the holidays.

In Winn Parish, U.S. 167 will detour just north of Winnfield for construction of the Dugdemona Bridge.  Both northbound and southbound traffic will shift onto the two existing northbound lanes, requiring traffic to be reduced to one lane in each direction. Please pay attention to the posted speed reduction.

In Grant Parish, one lane of U.S. 167 southbound will remain closed during the holidays.

Northeast Louisiana 

In the Monroe area, all lanes of I-20 will remain open to traffic and there will be no lane closures on major routes in the area.

In Franklin Parish, construction will continue on La. 4, between the Caldwell Parish line to Fort Necessity. Drivers may experience minor delays because of activity in this area.

In Concordia Parish, construction will continue on U.S. 84/U.S. 425 between Ferriday and Vidalia. Drivers may experience minor delays because of activity in this area.

Northwest Louisiana 

In the Shreveport-Bossier City area, all lanes of I-20, I-220 and I-49 will remain open to traffic.

Oversize/overweight vehicle movement

Secretary LeBas, announced today that all oversize and overweight vehicle movement on all state highways will be prohibited on Monday, December 24 through Tuesday, December 25, and on Monday, December 31 through Tuesday, January 1. LeBas said the decision was made in conjunction with the Louisiana Department of Public Safety, Office of State Police, to provide maximum safety for motorists traveling on state highways during this holiday. The Truck Permit Office will also be closed on Monday, December 24 through Tuesday, December 25, and on Monday, December 31 through Tuesday, January 1.

LA Swift Bus Service

LA Swift, the bus service that provides coach bus rides between Baton Rouge and New Orleans will be out of service on Tuesday, December 25, and will run its Sunday schedule on Tuesday, January 1.

Additionally, LA Swift will maintain its regular hours of operation for the football games.  However, to accommodate the anticipated crowds, additional LA Swift buses will be available to transport passengers, as needed.

Schedules and further details are available at www.laswift.com and through LA Swift’s Customer Service Center at (877)-94-SWIFT (1-877-947-9438).

The bus service makes stops in Baton Rouge, Gonzales, Sorrento, LaPlace, Kenner and New Orleans.

Ferry Information

On New Year’s Eve, the Lower Algiers / Chalmette ferry will extend its hours of operation from 12:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. to accommodate fireworks festivities.

Further information 

DOTD will coordinate with state and local police to monitor traffic and effectively respond to incidents throughout the holidays and bowl game activities.

Travelers can access up-to-date information about weather-related road conditions, construction activities and other critical incidents by dialing 511 from their telephone.

The voice-activated 511 Traveler Information System is available to most wireless and landline telephone users. Out-of-state travelers can access the system by calling 1-888-ROAD-511 (1-888-762-3511). Travelers can also access this information by visiting the 511 Traveler Information System Web site at www.511la.org.

Traffic cameras for the Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Hammond/Northshore, Houma, Lake Charles, Monroe/West Monroe, New Orleans, Shreveport/Bossier and surrounding areas also may be viewed from the 511 site.

DOTD’s Customer Service Center representatives can answer questions about road closures not listed above or any other DOTD-related questions. Please call (225) 379-1232 or 1-877-4LADOTD (1-877-452-3683) with questions. The center’s business hours are 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Customer Service Center will be closed Monday, December 24 through Tuesday, December 25, and on Monday, December 31 through Tuesday, January 1. Finally, drivers are encouraged to tune in to local radio stations for current traffic and incident information prior to traveling.

            Drivers who notice road hazards, such as potholes or debris in the road, are urged to call DOTD’s statewide, toll-free Highway Safety Hot Line at 1-800-259-HWAY (4929). The automated system operates 24-hours-a-day and routes callers to the appropriate field office to report hazardous conditions.

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www.dotd.la.gov