BATON ROUGE — Columns under Interstate 10 on the Mississippi River Bridge have seemingly been cracked since March 2021 and are still structurally sound, a Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development said Wednesday.

The issue with the column, which is located near Nicholson Drive near the approach to the bridge, is cosmetic, DOTD Director of Communications Rodney Mallett said.

"The outside concrete on the column is spalling (a large crack on the concrete's surface)," Mallett said. "The rebar and steel are not compromised."

Mallett added that the bridge was inspected in February and that DOTD staff will make cosmetic updates to the bridge's structure soon.