Louisiana will receive $1.2 billion in federal transportation funding next year to pay for critical infrastructure projects involving new roads, bridges and electric vehicle chargers, the Biden administration announced Thursday.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration will direct the money to Louisiana’s transportation department for the 2024 fiscal year. It marks a slight increase over the $1.15 billion and $1.18 billion the state received in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
The money comes from the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act, the second branch of President Joe Biden’s ambitious Build Back Better Plan―a three-part legislative agenda he unveiled during the early days of his presidency.
Congress passed the IIJA with significant bipartisan support eight months after passing the American Rescue Plan Act, which was a coronavirus stimulus package and the first part of Biden’s economic recovery agenda. The third and final portion, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), introduced huge investments in clean domestic energy, lowered prescription drug prices and closed tax loopholes for the wealthy, among other things. Passage of the IRA in August 2022 allowed Biden to enact the three major parts of his domestic agenda before the end of his second year.
While each of the bills includes funding for infrastructure, the IIJA is the country’s largest federal infrastructure investment in decades. It contains funding for transportation, energy grid improvements, drinking water systems, environmental remediation and broadband internet expansion.
A breakdown of Louisiana’s funding includes $967 million for expanding or improving interstates and U.S. highways, $219 million for bridge projects and $15.6 million for electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure. Read the full story from Louisiana Illuminator.
