BATON ROUGE - Officials from the Department of Transportation and Development are spearheading a nearly $8 million project that could potentially prevent deadly crashes along a dangerous stretch of I-10.

The area along I-10 between Grosse Tete and the Mississippi River Bridge has been commonly referred to by West Baton Rouge Parish officials as the "Devil's Triangle" because of the vast amount of crashes that take place there. The accidents can mainly be attributed to distracted drivers, unaware of stopped traffic ahead of them.

Lt. Ken Albarez with the West Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office has been outspoken for years about the hazardous conditions along that portion of I-10. 

“That is a treacherous stretch of highway," Albarez said.

Now, DOTD is looking to install a new 'queue warning system' along 16 miles of I-10 between Iberville and EBR parishes. The system includes nine cameras, vehicle detectors, flashing beacons and a dynamic message sign. 

In an email, DOTD spokesperson Rodney Mallett said:

"The purpose of this queue warning system is to warn motorists of queues ahead on I-10 from LA 77 to LA 1 in the West Baton Rouge area, and improve safety on this stretch of I-10. The detectors detect vehicles as the drive by without stopping or slowing down, meaning no queue has been formed ahead, and in this situation the queue warning system will not be activated. However, if the detectors detect that the vehicles are stopped on the road, or moving very slowly, or in a slow move and stop situation, then there is a queue formed or forming ahead. This will activate the queue warning system – The TMC will be alerted, a warning message on the queue ahead will be posted on the DMS sign,  the flashing beacons will start flashing to warn motorists about the queue ahead and be ready/ or to slow down. Once the queue is no longer there, the system will deactivate."

A timeline on the project has not been established yet, but DOTD is planning to meet with a contractor within the next month to discuss construction.