Metro Council to consider additional bridge funding

On Wednesday, the Metro Council will consider a one-time allocation of $900,000 toward parish bridge improvements from a dormant riverfront project. The proposal, introduced by Mayor Kip Holden, is the same deal he offered to the Metro Council in September as a compromise to encourage the approval of a $900,000 stage canopy for Galvez Plaza. That deal fell through when the council lost its quorum at its Sept. 28 meeting, and the canopy plan later passed without the deal. William Daniel, acting director of the Public Works Department, says the money would serve as a significant boost in bridge funding. “We have so many needs,” he says. “We have over 200 bridges that have wooden substructures. They’re built to last for 50 years, and we’re past that on the majority of them.” The Department of Public Works receives $380,000 annually from the parish transportation fund for bridge repairs, and another $600,000 for bridge replacements. The additional $900,000, Daniel says, “will go in one those of two pots, or we’ll split it. We haven’t decided yet.” He says the agency also hasn’t settled on bridge priorities. “We are going to evaluate whether or not to replace those that rank highest or repair them,” he says. The Metro Council killed a bond issue earlier this year by Mayor Kip Holden that included $79.5 million to replace or repair 78 of the parish’s worst-ranked bridges over the next decade. The Metro Council meets at 4 p.m. on the third floor of the Governmental Building, 222 St. Louis St. —Ian McGibboney