A passenger rail line between New Orleans and Baton Rouge is critical to economic development in the super region and is a top priority of the Edwards administration, Gov. John Bel Edwards said today.
Speaking to the Baton Rouge Rotary Club, Edwards reiterated his support for the rail line, which would cost an estimated $260 million to build and millions more to operate every year.
“Baton Rouge and New Orleans compete against each,” Edwards said. “If we are going to be successful, we have to stop that. Baton Rouge and New Orleans have to get together and compete as a super region against other areas. You can’t do that if you can’t live in one city and work in the other.”
Proponents of the passenger rail have argued it would enable the super region’s 1.4 million residents to move more freely between the two cities and would enhance economic development opportunities for the state.
Though the Edwards administration is clamping down on the state’s capital outlay process, the governor has identified the commuter rail as a top priority of his administration. Last month, he applied for a $100 million federal transportation grant that, if awarded, will be used to complete the Interstate 49 expansion. That, in turn, will free up state dollars for, among other projects, the New Orleans-Baton Rouge commuter rail and the relocation of the Washington Street exit on Interstate 10, a frequent source of bottlenecks in Baton Rouge.
“No place in the nation is help needed more than right here in Baton Rouge,” Edwards said. “We are going to fix that Washington Street exit problem.”
—Stephanie Riegel
