Transportation plan would kill Louisiana jobs, advocate claims

A state highway advocate is urging a federal committee to nix a transportation proposal he warns would be “a job killer” for Louisiana. Ken Perret, president of the Louisiana Good Roads and Transportation Association, wants the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to oppose a measure eliminating general funds from transportation spending. The proposal, authored by committee chair U.S. Rep. John L. Mica, R-Fla., would employ the federal transportation trust fund—funded by fuel taxes—as the sole funding source for projects. Perret says that Mica’s plan “tightens the noose on the Louisiana economy” by costing the state $271 million and 8,115 jobs. “This proposal is a job killer,” he says. In addition to the economic fallout, Perret says, public safety would also suffer from the gutted funding. “Chairman Mica said we have to do more with less,” Perret said. “If this proposal passes, Louisiana will certainly get more—more traffic congestion, more roads in poor condition, more highway fatalities and more people out of work—all because we’ll have less money.” Perret called on U.S. Rep. Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia, who serves on the committee, to vote against this proposal. The Louisiana Good Roads and Transportation Association is a nonprofit organization that promotes infrastructure-related issues in the state.