DOTD receives additional $60 million, applies funds to ready projects
Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 12:48:05 PM
From the OFFICE of the GOVERNOR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 11, 2017
Contact: govpress@la.gov
BATON ROUGE — Today, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) recently received $60.8 million in additional federal funds for highway projects. The department qualified for the additional federal funds after successfully allocating the full amount of its available federal funding to construction projects for the 2016-17 federal fiscal year.
“It is a great day when we can bring the tax dollars of hardworking Louisianans back to our own state,” Gov. Edwards said. “These funds will allow us to continue many of the road and infrastructure projects we need to complete. I am happy to announce the advancement of multiple projects across the state and I am dedicated to continuing to improve the roads and bridges we use every day.”
Each year the Federal Highway Administration allocates funds that were not used by other states or national programs. The Louisiana DOTD will use the newly awarded additional funds on projects where the funds can be obligated by September 30, 2017.
“We can certainly put this nearly $61 million to good use,” said DOTD Sec. Shawn D. Wilson. “Without a long-term, sustainable revenue source, the state may not be able to apply for redistributed funds in coming years because in 2019 the current revenue will not be sufficient to match annual federal allocations. These funds are essential to maintaining the existing state highway system, which consists of more than 16,000 miles of roadway and nearly 13,000 bridges. I’m proud of the good work the DOTD employees have done to obligate all of our annual federal funds and to receive these end-of-year funds.”
This additional funding will allow the Department to advance various construction projects over the next few months, including:
Bridge Replacement and Repair:
• The LA 120 bridge replacements near Provencal in Natchitoches Parish.
• Bridge replacements to Tucker, Dyer and Denham Road bridges in East Baton Rouge Parish.
• Bridge replacements to Pea Ridge and John Barber Road bridges in Livingston Parish.
• A bridge replacement for Vernon-Eros and Zoar Road bridges in Jackson Parish.
• The Blanchard Furrh Road/Choctaw Bayou bridge replacement in Caddo Parish.
• The Pleasant Hill Road and Lawrence Creek Road bridge replacement in Washington Parish.
• Bridge replacements to Rozena and Billeaux Road bridges in St. Landry Parish.
Pavement/Overlay:
• Patching and overlay on LA 16 on Chinquapin Bridge in Livingston Parish.
• Overlay on LA 442 at Pea Ridge Road in Livingston Parish.
• Overlay on LA 75 and LA 141 in Iberville Parish.
• Milling and overlay on LA 3038 (Cornerview) in Ascension Parish.
• Overlay on St. Charles Ave. from Nashville to Louisiana Ave. in Orleans Parish.
• Concrete overlay to Spring Creek Bridge on LA 1061 and LA 440 in Tangipahoa Parish.
• Overlay on US 61 and LA 3155 in Jefferson Parish.
• Overlay on LA 25 near the junction of LA 16 in Washington Parish.
• Patching and overlay to Forty Oaks Farm Road between Arkansas Road and Standard Reed in Ouachita Parish.
• Patching and overlay on LA 26, .08 miles north of Hospital Drive and W. Racca Road in Jefferson Davis Parish.
• Patching, overlay, and curb work on LA 3230 and LA 655 in Lafourche Parish.
Congestion Mitigation & Safety
• The widening of Swan Lake Road from I-220 to Flat River in Bossier Parish.
• The addition of a right turn lane on LA 28W at John Allison Drive in Rapides Parish.
• I-20 pavement marking replacement in Bienville Parish.
• An extension to the turn lane at the I-220 east bound exit ramp at LA 3 in Bossier Parish.
• Striping and pavement markers on Desiard St. in Ouachita Parish.
• Dunn Road roundabout improvements at LA 1026 in Livingston Parish.
• The leveling of the Magnolia Bridge approaches on LA 64 in East Baton Rouge and Livingston Parishes.
• The construction of turn lanes on the off-ramps on I-10 at LA 182 in Lafayette Parish.
• Pavement marker replacement on I-12 in St. Tammany and Tangipahoa Parishes.
• An extension of the right turn lane on LA 24 at LA 3040 in Terrebonne Parish.
For more information about these projects, please visit www.dotd.la.gov. Once construction is underway, motorists can check www.511la.org for updated travel information.
In addition to the construction projects, $6 million is being allocated for preconstruction work on the I-10 corridor in Baton Rouge, as well as preconstruction activities for several other projects throughout the state.
Advancing construction and preconstruction work this fall should allow DOTD to move a number critical bridge repair and replacement projects, and pavement repair projects from next fiscal year into the current fiscal year.
Each August, the U.S. Department of Transportation redistributes federal funding to states that are successful in obligating their full federal highway funding allotment during the fiscal year, which spans from October 1 through September 30. DOTD has received end-of-year federal funding 17 years in a row.
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