BATON ROUGE - Traffic in Baton Rouge can be brutal even on a normal day—but many are worried that it will get even worse in 2024 when the Interstate lanes are reduced for the I-10 widening project.

The DOTD says they know it will be bad. 

"What you're going to see in 2024 is increased congestion," DOTD spokesman Rodney Mallett said. 

Mallett says he wants people to prepare. He says businesses and companies in Baton Rouge need to find ways to get work done without relying on the Interstate. 

"Hopefully we will see more telecommuting offset start and end times, anything we can do to minimize the amount of people on the road at the same time," Mallett said. 

DOTD says they want downtown workers and other businesses to stagger workers' shifts to avoid all being on the road at once, especially in 2024, when the Interstate work will cause the most traffic congestion.  

The biggest issue will be the year-long lane closures that will force I-10 to a single lane in each direction just before the split to the approach of the new bridge. 

DOTD says engineers are hoping they may be able to find a way to keep two lanes open for I-10 west. 

However, they warn nobody is sure if that's possible. 

Engineers are just starting the research on it. 

"Once they have their study done, once they have their research done, they will present it and say, 'this is something we can do' or 'this is something we can't do' and we're not at that point yet," Mallett said

He says 2024 will be rough, but the end product will be worth it. 

"This is a project I believe Baton Rouge can be proud of, the state can be proud of, but we have to get through 2024 first," Mallett said. 

Mallett says when engineers know if keeping two lanes westbound is possible, the DOTD will let the public know.