Louisiana’s infrastructure earns poor marks in study

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Louisiana’s infrastructure earns poor marks in study; DOTD taking steps toward improvement

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Getting money for infrastructure projects in Louisiana has been a decades-long challenge. Even in good economic times, the state has been reluctant to make long-term commitments in the hopes that future tax receipts would cover needs. In down times, transportation funds have been diverted to needs like health care and higher education.

As a result, it’s not surprising that the state’s highway and bridge infrastructure rates poorly compared to other southern U.S. states. What might be shocking is that it even trails many cold-weather states in those areas.

That’s according to a recent report from financial website 24/7 Wall St., “States That Are Falling Apart.” The analysis places Louisiana 13th worst overall among the 50 states. Among southern states, only border states Delaware (12th) and West Virginia (3rd) fared worse, and even those states routinely see worse winters than Louisiana.

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One consolation for Louisiana residents might be that its spending on highways was far lower than many of the other states with poor infrastructure; at $450 per driver, it was the 21st lowest in the nation. By comparison, West Virginia has the third worst infrastructure but the fifth highest spending ($910), Pennsylvania has the fourth worst but spends the ninth most per driver ($773), and Alaska is sixth worst but spends the most per driver at $2,374.

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Given the Legislature’s inability to pass any major highway construction projects using general fund dollars, the state Department of Transportation and Development moved this year to garner permission to issue $650 million in GARVEE Bonds. These funds will be repaid in future years from federal transportation grants.

At the time that the use of the bonds was approved in April, Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson warned that if Louisiana didn’t take steps to improve its infrastructure, it risked having the federal government step in and dictate solutions.

“Without doing some of the urban projects, which are typically large capacity projects and very expensive, we run the risk of being forced to do them,” Wilson told a legislative committee. “Using [these] bonds will allow us to spread out the annual financial impact.”

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