DOTD and Calcasieu Bridge Partners outline I‑10 Calcasieu River bridge timeline, tolling and early impacts

The Calcasieu Parish Police Jury heard a detailed update Thursday on the I‑10 Calcasieu River Bridge and corridor project, including construction timing, right‑of‑way acquisitions, temporary detours and the planned start of electronic tolling in August 2031.

The presentation, led by Jonathan S. Hill, public information manager for the I‑10 Calcasieu Bridge project, laid out a four‑segment construction plan for the 5.5‑mile corridor between the I‑210 interchange in Westlake and Ryan Street in Lake Charles and described the concession and early works now underway.

Hill said the project will widen and reconstruct I‑10 to provide six travel lanes plus two auxiliary lanes, an elevated Sampson Street overpass, enhanced bridge lighting and a reduced bridge height “somewhere between 75 to 95 feet.” He described the overall cost as a $2,300,000,000 investment and said the work will be built on a new alignment just north of the current roadway. “Traffic is scheduled to shift to the new alignment in February 2030, but the tolling will not commence until August 2031,” Hill said, noting there will be roughly a year when drivers can use the new alignment without paying a toll.

Why this matters: the reconstruction replaces a 1952 span that now carries far more traffic than it was designed for. The project includes long‑term…