KSLA
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards has signed a major transportation bill into law.
The bill, House Bill 514, includes funding toward a new bridge over the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge and the widening of Interstate 10 to three lanes from LA 30 to LA 22. It calls for the legislature to gradually redirect up to $300 million per year in vehicle sales taxes toward infrastructure.
“For the first time in decades, the state of Louisiana is making a serious, long-term investment in its infrastructure. BRAC congratulates the state legislature for working together on this bipartisan bill, and the governor for signing it into law,” said Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) President and CEO Adam Knapp.
“We know that our infrastructure funding has been severely lacking, leading to unprecedented maintenance backlogs and no resources for future-oriented projects. With this rededication of dollars, Louisiana can begin to build back its infrastructure to compete for the jobs and talent that depend on it,” Knapp said Friday.ADVERTISEMENT
“This substantial investment in our infrastructure will go a long way toward alleviating our traffic woes, upgrading bridges in ill-repair, and is a significant next step in bringing a new Mississippi River Bridge and connectors to the Capital Region. Additionally, right-sizing our infrastructure funding will allow the state to access matching funds from the federal government, an important component in making major priorities like a new bridge possible.”