BATON ROUGE - Wednesday morning was the start of a major improvement for drivers at the I-10/I-12 interchange.

Traffic was shifted onto the newly-built structure that will someday be the College Drive Flyover Ramp. 

The adjustment will allow for crews to prepare the old I-10 westbound overpass to be torn down. Demolition of that structure is scheduled for the middle of May

"That's when we will overnight shut down I-12 eastbound so that we can bring the old structure down," said Mark Lambert, project spokesperson. 

Between now and then, crews will start dismantling that structure piece by piece.

Wednesday afternoon workers could be seen taking down temporary concrete barriers. After that, they will begin tearing down the bridge deck.

Lambert said drivers can expect more lane adjustments in the future as the project progresses.

"Anytime you have a change in traffic patterns, even if it's just slight, you kind of get peoples' attention and they tend to slow down a bit which is not necessarily a bad thing," he said.

One of the major changes will come as I-12 is re-aligned to flow underneath the I-10 overpass and College Flyover.

"Motorists probably can more easily visualize what's going to happen because some of the roadway that they used to be on, towards the inside, there's nothing on there right now. That actually is going to be part of where I-12 westbound is going to come in," Lambert said. 

The project deadline has faced a number of setbacks due to weather delays. Right now, it is scheduled to be complete by the beginning of 2025.