Daniel lays out 10-year, $81.6 million bridge plan

Replacing and repairing the parish’s 87 bridges in fair or worse condition over the next decade will cost roughly $81.6 million, Assistant Chief Administrative Officer William Daniel told the Metro Council at a special meeting Wednesday. Daniel noted roughly 160 bridge inspections will begin in May, and the program recommendations could likely increase. “I guarantee (they) will change in the next six months … and they usually change for the worse,” Daniel says of the number of bridges with a rating of 5 or less (fair) on a 9-point scale. Wednesday’s meeting on bridges lasted over two hours and preceded the regular council meeting. Daniel’s 25-minute presentation laid out the plan and available bridge funds: In short, he says there’s not nearly enough to cover the work needed. Afterward, council members questioned Daniel and other city employees about the plan’s details. Metro Councilman Chandler Loupe, who last week said Holden is trying to scare voters into approving a bond issue with talk of bridge collapses, asked the majority of questions. Many were about the plan’s price tag and possible funding mechanisms; however, he also appeared eager to get Daniel and other officials to admit there is not a “bridge crisis.” “The safety issue is what I want to focus on,” Loupe says. “Frankly, if you look at it, it will scare people because they’re driving over bridges every day that you’re saying are not safe.” Read the full story here. —Steve Sanoski