Mayor Kip Holden says repairing or replacing Baton Rouge’s most vulnerable bridges will be a “key component” in the bond issue he presents to the Metro Council next month. “We are 50 years behind on infrastructure improvements, and this is a very serious matter that we must address in the interest of public safety,” Holden says. Of the roughly 300 bridges the city-parish is responsible for maintaining, 87 have a 5 rating or lower on the 9-point scale, according to the city-parish Department of Public Works. A 5 rating means “potential exists for minor rehabilitation.” Additionally, 22 bridges have a 4 rating, with “marginal potential” for being rehabbed, and a dozen have a 3 rating, meaning they’re in need of immediate attention. Seventeen others are rated 2 or below. For a list of the bridges that have low ratings, click here.
In response, Metro Councilman Chandler Loupe says Holden is simply trying to strong-arm voters into approving a bond issue with scare tactics. Loupe says there is already enough money in last year’s and this year’s budgets to repair all of the 17 bridges with a rating of 2 or lower, all of which are currently closed or being repaired. “There is no bridge crisis, and actually our deficiency ratings are below the national average,” Loupe says. “It’s a fear tactic.” Loupe says the city-parish has a “secretive list” of federal funds obtained after hurricanes Gustav and Ike that will pay for bridge repairs, and asserts the mayor’s office has refused to share the details.
“Chandler Loupe is an absolute liar,” Holden says. “We are using recovery funds for bridges, but there’s nothing secret about them and there’s no way they can fund all of long-term needs we have.”
The city-parish received a grant from the Louisiana Recovery Authority—approved by the Metro Council—in August 2009 that allowed for $17 million in bridge improvements, says William Daniel, assistant chief administrative officer in Holden’s office. Projects totaling $2 million have thus far been approved by the Office of Community Development, which must give the OK for grant spending. Seven additional applications for bridge improvements are being processed, he says.
Though Holden is still working on the details of his bond issue proposal, he says it will likely fall between $600 million to $700 million. It should be ready to be presented to the Metro Council by the end of March, and he says a complete picture of the state of the city-parish’s bridge inventory will be included in his presentation. “I’m going to lay it all out there for Chandler Loupe and the others on the council. I’m going to say, here is where we are, here is what we need to do, and the only way we can do it is with a bond issue,” Holden says. “Chandler Loupe can ask any questions he wants, and he can bring in any experts he wants—and he better show up for that meeting.”
