Governor touts bipartisan dollars for local bridges

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Wednesday that more than 500 local bridges in Louisiana will be eligible for $270 million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Louisiana will receive approximately $1 billion over the next five years from the Federal Highway Administration’s Bridge Formula Program.

The Edwards administration has allocated $270 million for repairing and replacing off-system bridges, defined as bridges on city or parish roadways and not state highways. Louisiana has more than 4,700 of these bridges.

“The ability to fully fund these bridge projects will benefit thousands of residents across the state of Louisiana, many of them in rural areas,” Edwards said in a statement. “This funding for bridges is just one way we will implement the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to grow our economy and improve quality-of-life.”

The money will be allocated to each of the nine state Department of Transportation and Development districts. It will be up to local officials to determine which eligible bridges will be repaired and replaced. The number of eligible bridges may change and not all eligible bridges will be rehabilitated.

“Bridges connect communities and, with an aging infrastructure system, we are actively working to ensure continued connectivity for all types of road users in these parishes,” said DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson. “Executing a consultant contract for each district will allow us to speed up the project development process and make the most of this historic investment in our infrastructure system while relying on local leadership for prioritization.”