DOTD decision on three Mississippi River bridge sites could come by end of May

The process to cut the number of prospective sites for a new Mississippi River Bridge could end sooner than anticipated, a state Department of Transportation and Development official said Monday.

The DOTD hopes to have the number of sites down to three by the end of this month, spokesman Rodney Mallett said.

“We’re running a little ahead of the timeline that we initially set,” he said.

The DOTD will cut the list of prospective areas from 10 to three sites, between East Baton Rouge Parish and the southern portion of Iberville Parish, Mallett said.

Environmental assessments could take up to a year or longer, he said.

Officials previously targeted mid-to-late June to reach a conclusion on the three sites.

The large volume of public response – mainly on the location for the bridge – has played the biggest part of the site selection.

A turnout much larger than anticipated for most of the public forums has increased the time for officials to review the comments filed during the forums in Iberville, Ascension, East Baton Rouge and West Baton Rouge parishes, Mallett said.

“Turnout for each one was outstanding, just as it was for the forums for the I-10 widening,” he said. “It’s good to see people interested because if we’re trying to explain to people that we need funding or a timeline for a project and they understand the process, it’s more likely to get the backing from the lawmakers.”

Public response has ranged from interested to enthusiastic, which helps keep the plans on the drawing board, Mallett said.

“That obviously plays a major part of determining whether we should move ahead on a project of that magnitude,” he said. “It was the opposition that ended discussion on a bridge back in 1995.”

The move on site selection continues after state lawmakers approved a 2023 fiscal year budget that will include $300 million for the initial phase that Gov. John Bel Edwards and other supporters hope will lead to an artery that would connect La. 1 on the west side of the Mississippi River to La. 30 on the east side.

Committee members at the State Capitol allocated $300 million for the initial phase that Edwards and other supporters hope will lead to an artery that would connect La. 1 on the west to La. 30 on the east.

The proposed budget Edwards unveiled in January recommended $500 million for studies and other legwork that would lead to federal funding for the bridge.