LAPLACE — Interstate speed reductions can be considered via request for a study, according to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.

The issue of possible reduced speeds for Interstates 10 and 55 was brought up this week after a St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s deputy was injured Monday while working a crash scene on I-10.

Sgt. Staty Lewis was injured while reaching into his unit to retrieve a medical kit when a suspected drunken driver struck his vehicle, breaking his shoulder blade and sending him to the hospital.

Sheriff Mike Tregre suggested Lewis, who was released from the hospital the same day he was admitted, was most likely saved because his large Chevrolet Suburban absorbed much of the wreck’s impact.

According to Tregre, his officers routinely write speeding tickets on Interstate 10 and 55 for violators in excess of 95 miles per hour.

He said expanded use of the existing turnarounds on those major highways would create safe spaces for emergency responders to work.

“I hope a study can be done,” he said. “Hopefully, we can get money to widen them and fix them. We’ve had tragedy and many near tragedies. It’s not getting any better.”

Two wreck scene responders — one fire department official and one tow truck operator — have been killed on St. John interstates in the last 11 months after they were involved in secondary wrecks that occurred, in part, because of congestion on the highway following an initial crash.

Louisiana Department of Transportation officials said the Federal Highway Administration restricts the installation of turnarounds along interstates because when emergency responders are not using them, the public occasionally uses them illegally, resulting in dangerous situations.

However, existing turnarounds remain largely unused on I-10 and I-55.

LaDOTD Public Information Officer Bambi Hall, who works in the Northshore Area, which includes St. John, said the elevated turnarounds along the Bonnet Carre Spillway were recently upgraded to allow remote opening of the barrier rail.

“This had been a request of all emergency response entities for some time now,” Hall said. “Once a Standard Operating Procedure is produced, the use of the Bonnet Carre turnarounds will be in affect and a managing agency or agencies assigned.”

She said the at-grade turnarounds were recently dressed up, so they should be OK for future use.

According to LaDOTD, the outside shoulders along I-10 and I-55 should be a minimum of eight feet and can accommodate a passenger vehicle.

“I believe we restriped I-10 on the Bonnet Carre Spillway to widen the shoulders,” Hall said.