LA's 2022 budget will likely include funding for bridges in Baton Rouge and Lake Charles

The Advocate is shilling pretty hard for Governor Edwards since this is the state legislature and federal government's existing earmarks and funding stream pretty much requires additional match. But I'm still glad that it's finally happening. Note that the state's funding share is a fraction of the total cost - the rest will come from the federal government. In the case of the Baton Rouge bridge, a lot of funding will come from special financing backed by future toll revenue.

LINK - The Advocate

quote:

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The effort for a new structure in Baton Rouge has been discussed for years but the lack of money and proper planning have been key stumbling blocks.

The governor is also expected to propose additional funds to build a new Calcasieu River bridge on Interstate 10 in Lake Charles.

That price-tag is roughly $800 million.

Two things have changed the funding outlook.

The state expects an additional $1.6 billion in revenue because of federal aid sparked by the coronavirus pandemic and better than expected state tax collections.

In addition, Louisiana is in line for about $6 billion over five years for roads and bridges and other infrastructure from the $1 trillion bill that cleared Congress last year.

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You can read the whole article at the link. It's poorly written and at least mildly slanted. But the theme is that these two new bridges appear to have yet another funding source as the state finally gets serious about building them.