Traveling between Lafayette and Henderson on Interstate 10 in South Louisiana can be a very interesting proposition. It's estimated that more 60-thousand people travel this stretch of the Interstate Highway system everyday. The roadway not only carries local traffic but there is interstate commerce in the form thousands of tractor trailer rigs as well.

It's this traffic congestion and the unusual amount of large trucks on the roadway that has given the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development a reason to fast track improvements to this stretch of roadway.

Every chance we can remove vehicular traffic from truck traffic, it makes it safer for everyone. This is a very important segment that 60,000 people a day travel through.

Shawn Wilson is executive Director of DOTD and he told the Louisiana Radio Network that the planned work will involve federal dollars from the U.S. Governement's Fastlane program.

It was the only project that we had that was eligible for this pot of money that will allow us to stretch our dollars further and wider here in Louisiana.

Widening, not so much as stretching, is the goal of the project as well. The plan will have the current two lanes of traffic for eastbound and westbound travelers increased to three lanes in both directions. The widening will cover the roughly 15 mile stretch of interstate between the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge in St. Martin Parish and the junction of I-10 and I-49 in Lafayette Parish.

Many residents have voiced concerns about road construction delaying travelers during this time.

That’s one of the really important things from a safety and a convenience perspective is to ensure that the normal mobility patterns aren’t totally disrupted with construction.

Construction on the project is scheduled to begin in January of 2017.

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