Following the selection of the consulting team for the new Mississippi River bridge, the process to begin selecting a location for the span could begin by the end of Q1 2020, says Jay Campbell, chairman of the five-parish Capital Area Road and Bridge District.
The three consulting finalists—Los Angeles-based AECOM Technical Services, Austin, Texas–based Atlas Technical Consultants and Pittsburgh-based Michael Baker International—will be interviewed Wednesday at the DOTD headquarters. DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson will make the final selection.
Once the firm is selected, there’s a variety of tasks that will need to be completed as part of pre-construction activities to ensure the project will be eligible for federal funding. Over the summer, the district secured $5 million in state surplus dollars for the project, though Campbell says that cash is covering the pre-construction work by the consulting firm. The location selection process could take up to 18 months.
“The reality is that there is no available funding dedicated to this project at this time,” says Campbell, adding that a new revenue stream will likely need to be generated at the state level to help cover the project and secure federal dollars.
It’s still too early in the process to determine a realistic timeline for when the project could break ground, Campbell says, but he estimates it could take between seven to 10 years to complete.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated since its original publication to show that the location selection process will begin within the next few months, rather than the final selection of the bridge location. Daily Report regrets the error.
