State leaders had a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday for Phase II of the LA-Improvement Project. The elevated Highway 1 in Lafourche Parish, which runs from Port Fourchon to Leeville, is being extended.Phase II of the LA-1 Improvement Project will elevate 8.3 miles of highway from Leeville to Golden Meadow. Once it’s complete, there will be 19.3 miles of elevated expressway between Golden Meadow and Port Fourchon.State leaders say this will help businesses and residents evacuate from hurricanes.“This is going to be huge because you have a large economy of people who live in the Golden Meadow/ Grand Isle/ Port Fourchon area,” says Dr. Shawn Wilson, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. “You have a tremendous amount of business that have to demobilize in a disaster, so this is going to be a much more efficient way for folks to get in and out, as well as an alternative route.”LA-1 will still be open, but this new route can help accelerate evacuations, as well as provide an alternate route if LA-1 floods. “So from a disaster response or evacuation route perspective, it's absolutely huge, and it's going to be huge in terms of the repatriation or repopulation of that area to make sure that folks can move boats and trailers and other large pieces of equipment that may have to demobilize or be relocated during a disaster or impending storm,” said Wilson.Wilson believed this project will help the local economy. He said those working on the construction will pump money into the towns by dining at restaurants, sleeping in hotels and buying other goods and services.“This is an opportunity to hire locally, in terms of creating jobs for other industries and other people who may have a skillset that can be transported to the construction industry,” said Wilson.As for if this project could have negative impacts on businesses along the original highway once the elevated one is complete, the secretary stressed that the original LA-1 will still be open to travelers.“This is a matter of progress. This is something that the community came to us back in 2004 and 2005 and said that they wanted for the very reasons to maintain their existence on an ongoing basis. We believe all of those products -- the seafood and all of those things that individuals currently participate in and patronize those businesses -- I think their business model will continue to survive and have an impact on them,” said Wilson.The secretary and other state leaders say this will have a major impact on the state and national economy. This route services almost 90% of deep-water gas and petroleum extraction from the Gulf.“Huge pieces of material get exported through this corridor, and when it’s not passable, those materials can’t get to the gulf of Mexico,” said Wilson. “That petrochemical contribution is huge, not just for the state's GDP, but for the nation's GDP.”Phase II will cost $463 million. The project is expected to take 6.5 to 7 years to complete, depending on disruptions such as hurricanes and supply chain issues. As part of the federal grant they received, the construction window will be no more than 7.5 years.