BATON ROUGE - Driving on Baton Rouge interstates at night has become more difficult for many drivers, as some of the road reflectors designed to help guide traffic are missing.

State officials say the problem dates back to last year's rare winter snowstorm, when snowplows damaged thousands of reflectors across the region. Along stretches of Interstate 12, some reflectors that should be embedded in the roadway can now be found on the shoulder instead.

"This needs to be an urgent fix," commuter Malcom Mack said.

Mack said the missing reflectors make it harder for drivers to stay in their lanes, especially at night or during bad weather.

"It is a safety hazard," Mack said. "Having the reflectors helps people see and also keeps people in their lane because the white line doesn't stay on the ground long."

According to Rodney Mallett with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, the damage happened during the January snowstorm, when plows cleared interstates including I-10, I-12 and I-110.

"Once that occurred, we had to go and determine how many miles of reflectors and striping had to be replaced," Mallett said.

For drivers like Mack, the missing reflectors have made nighttime driving feel uncertain.

"When you're driving on I-12, you just have to put it in God's hands," he said.

Mallett said the repair process has taken time because the state first had to secure federal funding before putting the work out for bid.

"We had to know what we were going out to bid with. We had to get the bid," Mallett said.

The statewide project to repair damaged striping and reflectors is estimated to cost about $40 million. A smaller project in the Baton Rouge area is expected to cost about $1 million.

Weather has also slowed progress. Mallett said crews can only restripe lanes and install reflectors when temperatures are above 50 degrees.

"You can't stripe when it's too cold. It doesn't stick, it doesn't work," he said.

Drivers like Mack say they're hoping repairs come soon.

"They want us to be safe, but they ain't putting safety material for us to be safe," Mack said.

The Department of Transportation and Development says re-striping work is expected to begin on Interstate 12 and Interstate 110 later this month.