LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)- The 15-mile stretch of I-10 between Lafayette and the Basin Bridge is being expanded from four lanes to six lanes, according the the Department of Transportation and Development.

“We’re in the planning stages right now,” Bill Oliver, DOTD District Engineer Administrator, said.

Oliver said the department has been planning the widening project for a decade.

“This is a project that’s been long in the works to get done,” Oliver said. “It’s all about the logistics of maintaining traffic.”

After the project is complete, I-10 will have three lanes in both directions instead of two.

The $300 million expansion also calls for a complete rebuild of the existing road. It’s a road Oliver said hasn’t had any reconstruction since the 1960’s.

“When we originally started, we talked about overlaying it like we did on I-10 west of here, but the pavement is in too bad a condition. So we’re having to replace it and put brand new pavement, so it’s a very large project,” Oliver told News 10.

Construction is scheduled to begin in the next two months.

The DOTD said it will keep two lanes of traffic open during the construction.