Governor John Bel Edwards’ current budget proposes setting aside $500 million for the much-needed Mississippi River Bridge in Baton Rouge. This is in addition to hundreds of millions of dollars of state surplus and federal funds that are being targeted to infrastructure projects across the state.
This $500 million is a critical down payment on one of the state’s most important infrastructure projects and is needed to leverage the federal and private funding required to make it a reality.
Unfortunately, some are saying this money should be spent elsewhere because the project isn’t ready to go. The truth is it’s already moving forward. The contract to do the environmental work is in place. By August the number of possible bridge locations will be narrowed to three and solicitation of a public-private partnership for the project can begin in 2023.
The process for obtaining federal mega-project funding begins this year. There’s more than $1.5 billion on the table, but to access any part of it requires a dollar-for-dollar match. If we don’t have state funding in place to apply through the program, Louisiana won’t be able to attract the private-sector partner that is needed, and we miss a rare opportunity to move ahead. If that happens, we won’t see a new bridge in Baton Rouge in our lifetimes, we threaten the growth of our economy, and we put public safety at risk.
This is about more than a bridge. It’s about a major economic development project for Louisiana where we are competing against other states for a substantial, but limited, pool of dollars. We must be ready to move without delay.
Today we are at a rare moment when the availability of one-time state dollars is well-aligned with the federal government’s interest in investing in important infrastructure. Louisiana must seize this opportunity to make a generational investment in the economy that can have a transformational impact on the future of our state.
Sincerely,
Wayne Brown, Shreveport
Vice Chair – Committee of 100 for Economic Development, Inc.
Linda Biernacki, Shreveport
Board Member – Committee of 100 for Economic Development, Inc.
Dr. Phillip Rozeman, Shreveport
Secretary/Treasurer – Committee of 100 for Economic Development, Inc.
