A legislative committee on Friday deferred what was expected to be a controversial hearing over imposing tolls on a proposed Intracoastal Canal bridge in Belle Chasse on New Orleans’ lower west bank.
Instead, the Joint Legislative Transportation Committee decided to seek more information, before making a decision, about the federal grant that will largely fund the project.
The legislative action, or lack thereof, has implications for the Capital Region because the funding model proposed for construction and operation of the $125 million Belle Chasse project—a combination of federal public dollars, private investment and 45-cent tolls—is seen as something of a model for the development of a new Mississippi River Bridge in Baton Rouge.
Sen. Rick Ward, R-Port Allen, who spearheaded efforts to create a regional taxing authority for the new Baton Rouge bridge, says he’s concerned that the legislative committee’s move to revisit a previously approved public-private partnership sends the wrong signal to the federal government, which has been generous of late with its infrastructure investments in Louisiana.
“It sends the wrong message,” he says. “I don’t think it’s good, especially as we’re seeking federal funds for our projects.”
The Belle Chasse project, which many thought was finalized earlier this year, has started to unravel amidst election year politics, with at least one local candidate in Plaquemines Parish campaigning against the imposition of tolls on the new bridge and opposition to the tolls beginning to grow.
Scott Kirkpatrick, who lobbies for transportation infrastructure investment through the industry-backed group CRISIS, says he isn’t so much worried about that kind of backlash in the Capital Region, where motorists understand the need to do something to address chronic gridlock. But, like Ward, he says he is concerned about how the potential collapse of the Belle Chasse deal could affect the Capital Region’s ability to secure federal money in the future.
“If Plaquemines is unwilling to pay a toll to secure federal money, the Capital Regional would be happy to take their place,” he says.Â
