BATON ROUGE - State representatives and the Department of Transportation and Development want to close Interstate 10's exit at Washington Street by December, a coalition of officials said Monday.

DOTD handed out flyers mentioning the potential closure of the Washington Street exit. Now, DOTD Secretary Joe Donahue and Representatives Dixon McMakin and Chad Brown are hoping to move forward with the closure. McMakin said the goal is to have the Washington Street exit closed by Christmas of 2025. 

Donahue called the area of I-10 around the exit one of the worst bottlenecks along the entirety of I-10. With the closure of the exit, he said there will be less weaving and congestion issues in the area, which will also reduce crashes. 

The plan is to remove the signage and block the ramp with barriers ahead of the eventual destruction of the ramp itself with the ongoing widening project expected to be finished by 2028. 

At a news conference in front of the exit, the trio held a ceremonial "smashing" of the Washington Street exit ramp with golden spray-painted hammers.