Louisiana may tweak state worker schedules for I-10 widening

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration is considering whether to move Louisiana’s state workers to four-day work weeks, staggered shifts or some work-from-home scheduling to cut down on traffic in Baton Rouge when the state starts widening Interstate 10 in the capital city.

“We just want to make a dent in the volume of traffic that is coming and going during the construction window,” Shawn Wilson, secretary for the state Department of Transportation and Development said.  

No decisions have been made yet.

The I-10 widening includes adding a new lane in both directions between La. 415 and the Interstate 10/Interstate 12 split, and replacing the bridge over a lake at City Park that is used by nearly 154,000 motorists daily. The widening work could begin in 2023.

Even without a massive construction project, I-10 is the site of daily backups. But the stretch of roadway will be trimmed from three lanes to two for months at a time. That’s spurring conversations about ways to lessen the number of cars and trucks.

Other ideas under review include asking Louisiana State University to tweak class schedules to reduce traffic; redirecting some eastbound traffic entering Baton Rouge to U.S. 190 and setting up “park and ride” stations for westbound commuters headed to Baton Rouge from Ascension Parish.