BATON ROUGE - The repaving of Jefferson Highway is now one month behind schedule due to crews discovering "unsuitable soils" while removing the old roadway. 

The Department of Transportation of Development said that while removing the portion of Jefferson Highway between I-12 and Chelsea Drive, crews encountered unsuitable soils that changed the course of the work.

According to DOTD officials, unsuitable soils mean "mud, muck, wet clay" with "no strength," which makes them unsuitable to build a state highway on top. DOTD plans to replace it with a stone aggregate, and work will not begin until all pricing is agreed upon and the change order is approved for the additional work for the section between I-12 and Chelsea.

DOTD issued an official statement saying they expect to be "back at it by the end of this week, and this should only delay the project by a few weeks." They also expect to move from the Drusilla side to the Bluebonnet Road-Floynell Drive area by approximately mid-May to conduct similar work.

Crews will return to the Drusilla side by Fall 2024 where they will begin removing one outside lane at a time. This work will continue for about 6 months where all lanes will be removed and built back up except for the final layer. 

Officials said work in the impacted section should resume by the end of the week. The project is scheduled to be completed by February 2026.