With statewide elections on the horizon in Louisiana this year, some Baton Rouge-area officials working to bring a new Mississippi River bridge to the region are worried leadership changes could derail construction before it even starts.
"We should be very cognizant of the election cycle," John Diez, Ascension Parish chief administrative officer, said during a June 26 meeting of the Capitol Area Road and Bridge District (CARB-D). "You'll have a lot of people not from Baton Rouge who, quite honestly, don't understand what this corridor means to our economy. Now is the time to educate them on why this is important."
The district, a commission made up of officials from the five parishes most affected by the project, held its quarterly meeting to discuss hiring a consultant tasked with creating informational material on the project's benefits for those running for elected office this fall.
The Advocate news site in Baton Rouge reported the project is currently in the middle of an environmental review of the three sites that are in the running for the bridge. Each of them is in Iberville Parish, just south of Plaquemine on the west side and St. Gabriel on the east.
During their March meeting, CARB-D members said they hoped to pick the final site by spring 2024. That estimate was delayed June 26 by contractors hired to manage the project by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD), who said a decision will be finalized by the following August.
The long-term prospects of the $3 billion project are made murky by the departure next January of term-limited Gov. John Bel Edwards, who supports the effort. Additionally, the state still needs to figure out how exactly to pay the cost for the bridge and the road improvements leading up to it.
This fall's elections also will bring new legislators to the state capitol, and commissioners hope they will arrive with knowledge of the project and its benefits to the state, the Advocate reported June 27.
"Some of the other parishes that are not … directly impacted, don't feel they have a dog in this hunt," said Jay Campbell, the head of CARB-D and an Edwards' appointee. "The core of the economic growth in [the state] has been in south Louisiana, and particularly in Ascension, Iberville and West Baton Rouge parishes, where the petrochemical industry is continuing to do significant expansions and growth in their plant facilities."
No final decision was made on a consultant for the task at CARB-D's June 26 meeting, but Campbell said he intends to create a proposal for the other commissioners to review in the coming weeks.
Hopes Are That Bridge Will Lessen Congestion
The final selection of the bridge site will come after officials elected this fall take office next January, so maintaining the momentum behind the project will be critical during that time, noted CARB-D commissioners.
Consultants originally had a list of 32 possible locations, before the seven-member commission narrowed the list to three in May 2022.
An environmental analysis that reviews the potential impact of a new bridge on wildlife, wetlands, nearby residents and other factors is currently being reviewed by the consultants. Those results, along with several other factors, will help decide where the Mississippi River bridge will be constructed.
All three possible sites would reduce peak travel time on Louisiana Highway 1 North by 50 percent, the biggest impact of any new crossing, the Advocate learned.
Campbell said he would like the final location to be the one that makes the largest impact on traffic congestion in the area, but the ongoing studies will help with narrowing down the list.
The northernmost crossing is south of Plaquemine on the west side, which ties into La. 1 near the Iberville Parish Firing Range and less than a mile north of Evergreen Road.
On the east side, the river crossing would link onto La. 30 about a half-mile south of the East Baton Rouge/Iberville Parish line.
Both the middle and southernmost proposals would be south of Plaquemine and tie into La. 1 between Evergreen Road just north of the main Shintech Drive.
State officials say the bridge itself will cost up to $1.5 billion and improvements on the key connectors — La. 30 on the east side and La. 1 on the west — could be another $1.5 billion.
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