Staff Report

BATON ROUGE – Officials with the State Department of Transportation and Development said this week work crews would be shutting down a portion of Interstate 55 in St. John Parish for installation of overhead sign support trusses.

A release from DOTD stated the right southbound lane of I-55 will be shut down between milepost 6 and milepost 4 or from Ruddock to US Highway 51 in LaPlace. The lane closures began Wednesday and will carry on through Nov. 15. 

The release said the lane will be closed 24 hours through the duration of the project, but work will only be done between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. DOTD said motorists should be on the lookout for workers and equipment on the roadway.

This closure has no vehicle restrictions. One lane will be open to traffic at all times; however, to avoid the lane closure motorists may take Exit 7 at Ruddock and go south on I-55 Service Road (Old US 51 South) to Exit 1 at LaPlace.

Anyone with any questions regarding the work may contact Scott Boyle, District 62 traffic operations engineer, at 985-375-0105.