BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Secretary William D. Ankner announced Friday the agency has finished construction on a 10-mile project to widen Interstate 10 in Calcasieu Parish four months ahead of schedule.

The $69 million project widened I-10 from four lanes to six lanes from U.S. 165 to just west of I-210 in Lake Charles, added a 12-foot travel lane in each direction. Gilchrist Construction Company, which won a competitive bid on the project, began work in March 2007 and had until late summer 2009 to finish construction.

“I am delighted we finished this roadwork early,” Ankner said. “The real winners are the citizens of Southwest Louisiana, who now have extra lanes that will make their commute safer and easier.”

Ankner noted that the wider interstate also will better accommodate a hurricane evacuation for Southwest Louisiana, especially now that U.S. 171 and U.S. 165 have been four-laned well into North Louisiana. “We now have a robust system that can handle a full evacuation in the Lake Charles area with minimal use of contraflow,” Ankner said.

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www.dotd.la.gov