DOTD Issues Labor Day Travel Advisory

The Labor Day holiday will come up Monday, and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development says there will several areas across the state with open construction zones so that people will have an easier time traveling during the holiday.

DOTD Secretary Sherri H. LeBas urges drivers to use extra caution when traveling on the roadways during the upcoming holiday, especially at railroad crossings and within construction zones where the speed limit is reduced.

Here are the districts, their projects and their conditions for the holiday weekend:

Southeast Louisiana

·         In the New Orleans area, all lanes of I-10, I-310, I-510 and I-610 will remain open to traffic.

·         In St. Tammany Parish, all lanes of I-59, I-10, and I-12 will remain open to traffic.

Also, in St. Tammany Parish, traffic will be detoured around the intersection of La. 434 and U.S. 190 to the Old U.S. 190 junction with La. 434, due to the roundabout construction.

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

·         In East Baton Rouge Parish, all lanes of I-12 and I-110 will remain open.

Southwest Louisiana

·         In the Lafayette area, all lanes of I-10 and I-49 will remain open to traffic. A bridge between Oak Grove Hwy and Creole Hwy, 1.2 miles south of La. 1143 on La. 82 will be closed until further notice.

·         The Grand Prairie rest area, located on I-49 in St. Landry Parish, and the boat launch to access Dubisson Lake are closed to travelers while undergoing renovations.

·         In New Iberia, the La. 3156 Jefferson Street Bridge will remain closed during the holiday.

·         In St. Martin Parish, La. 686 remains closed between Cecilia and Arnaudville.

·         In the Lake Charles area, all lanes of I-10 will remain open to traffic. I-210 will have intermittent lane closures in both directions between I-10 and Exit 12 from 7 p.m. on Thursday until Friday at 6 a.m. Lane closures are necessary for the contractor to install signs, guard rail, and pour concrete.

Additionally, traffic will detour on LA 82 around the bridge site:

·         Eastbound traffic will be diverted using LA 27 north to Homewood then east on LA 14 to Abbeville, then south on LA 335 to Kaplan, then south on LA 35 returning to LA 82.

·         Westbound traffic will divert to LA 35 north to LA 335 (Kaplan), north on LA 335 to Abbeville, then west on LA 14 to Homewood and south on LA 27 to LA 82.

Central Louisiana

·         In Vernon Parish, in the Leesville area, U.S. 171 from La. 10 to Boone Street (old La. 1212), will have lane closures in each direction.

·         In Rapides Parish, one lane of La. 28 westbound will be closed between St. Clair and Gardner, La.

·         In Avoyelles Parish, the City of Bunkie has a detour on La. 115 south of town due to some drainage work.

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 and Fort Necessity. 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.

DOTD announced that all oversize and overweight vehicle movement on all state highways will be prohibited on Monday, September 2.

LeBas said the decision was made in conjunction with Louisiana State Police, to provide maximum safety for motorists traveling on state highways during this holiday. DOTD’s Truck Permit Office will also be closed on Monday, September 2.

If you need traffic information while you are traveling you can call the the voice-activated 511 Traveler Information System is available to most wireless and land line telephone users.