The Infrastructure Hit List

Here’s a look at the top priorities for South Louisiana.

1. I-10 bridge, Lake Charles

In total, about $800 million has been allocated for the bridge. Unfortunately, the costs continue to escalate. Now at a cost of $1.5 billion, the public-private project will span from the I-10/I-210 west interchange to the east side of the Ryan Street exit ramp and will improve LA 378 from I-10 to Sulphur Avenue in Lake Charles.

2. New I-10 bridge south of Baton Rouge

Currently, the project is in Phase 2 of the environmental assessment, with the eventual location of the bridge narrowed down to three locations, all south of Plaquemine and crossing into St. Gabriel. The bridge will primarily service the industrial corridor south of Baton Rouge.

3. I-10 through Baton Rouge to the industrial corridor

The interstate system through Baton Rouge and points south remains a source of congestion and traffic slowdowns, significantly impacting the flow of people, goods and services to the industrial sector.

4. La 3127 Extension, Donaldsonville

The extension of LA 3127 around Donaldsonville along with other planned improvements are critical to supporting future investments.

5. St. Bernard Transportation Corridor

Future elevated expressway to route truck traffic from PortNOLA’s new Louisiana International Terminal to and from the facility. The port received $50 million in capital outlay bill last year from the state.

6. New Orleans-Baton Rouge Intercity Passenger Rail his parish to accommodate the bridge as well as facilitate the construction and operation of a planned RiverPlex MegaPark near Donaldsonville.

Like many infrastructure needs in the state, an inter-city passenger rail has long been touted as a vital for future commerce, but little has been accomplished.

Entergy Louisiana has filed a 10-year, $9.6 billion plan – Entergy Future Ready – with the PSC that will replace existing electrical infrastructure with more resilient and durable equipment. Entergy is also applying for grants under the Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) program.

The port already operates a facility just 23 nautical miles from the Gulf with no air draft restrictions and direct access to the federally maintained deep draft Calcasieu Ship Channel. That’s important, since turbine blades can measure from 350 to 425 feet.

In the oil and gas-dependent Houma/ Thibodaux region, no infrastructure discussion is complete without addressing the completion of the LA 1 Improvement Project and I-49 extension, in the creation of a vital north-south route.

An $80 million 8.3-mile, 4-lane highway extending LA 3127 from LA 70 to LA 1 tops the list.

Burgess says it would route freight traffic around Donaldsonville, increase regional connectivity and enhance safety. An additional $22 million LA 1/LA 3127/Energy Transition Parkway Interchange would provide a directional interchange of the three highways, which would benefit the flow of industrial traffic.

They’re still pursuing funding for the initiatives, however. “The proposed LA 3127 Extension project would not only provide access to the planned industrial RiverPlex MegaPark, but also increase regional connectivity to the planned Mississippi River Bridge,” Burgess says.

Ports Pivot To Remain Competitive

Meanwhile, Louisiana’s port directors warn that significant port investments will be needed if they are to remain competitive in an increasingly crowded field.

Jessica Ragusa, deputy director of governmental affairs at Port NOLA, says the port’s new $1.8 billion Louisiana International Terminal is their “ace in the hole,” as it will enable the port to accept Panamex and New Panamax mega-vessels and be capable of handling 2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually.

“We’ve already got the 50-foot draft we need thanks to the Corps of Engineers, but if we’re not ready with the terminal we’ll get left out of the game,” Ragusa says. “That’s our top priority right now.”

In December, the facility received $800 million in funding from Ports America and Mediterranean Shipping Company’s investment arm Terminal Investment Limited. The $1.8 billion facility is slated to being construction in 2025 and the berths open in 2028.

“We’ll be able to handle the largest vessel capacities. That’s the need. We’re seeing these vessels starting to come into the market and if we don’t have the facilities to accept them then we’ll no longer be in the container business, and neither will the state of Louisiana.”

PortNOLA is also raising funds for the St. Bernard Transportation Corridor, an elevated expressway that will connect the terminal to major traffic routes.

The port received $50 million from the state’s capital outlay bill last year for the corridor, but Ragusa says that they’ll need to build a comprehensive grant funding strategy as well as pursue other funding strategies such as a toll road.

“The timing is very complex,” she adds. “For example, we might receive a grant but not be able to spend it until 2026, so we’re developing a grant strategy to take full advantage of the opportunities.”

The Port of Lake Charles has its own plans to capitalize on a rapidly changing market, albeit in a decidedly different way. Ricky Self, port executive director, says his biggest future need will be enhancing port facilities to prepare for a burgeoning offshore wind market.

The port’s Industrial Canal site “checks all of the boxes,” Self says. “The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has proposed the first offshore wind lease in the Gulf,” he adds, “and the majority of the acreage sits just 30 miles from where the Calcasieu Ship Channel hits the Gulf.”

The port’s Industrial Canal site is situated just 23 nautical miles from the Gulf with no air draft restrictions and direct access to the federally maintained deep draft Calcasieu Ship Channel. That’s important, since turbine blades can reach anywhere from 350 to 425 feet long. “We have about 50 acres and more than 3,000 linear feet of shoreline available,” he adds.

Before that can happen, the port will need to perform significant upgrades the site, as well as extend its port-owned rail system at a cost of about $135 million.

The funding for the effort remains in limbo—the port applied for a Port Infrastructure Development Program grant to fund the study, but the application was denied.

“We feel that if we apply for the actual construction of the facility, it could be successful,”

Self says. “We anticipate that once the operator, port and state are at the table, that will go a long way toward getting this funded.”

SENDING I-49 SOUTH

In the oil and gas-dependent Houma/Thibodaux region, no infrastructure funding initiative is satisfactory unless it addresses the I-49 extension and completion of the LA 1 Improvement Project. That’s because the area badly needs a north-south corridor access route, not only for transporting goods and services but as an evacuation route.

Last fall, state and local officials officially broke ground on a key piece of the I-49 Lafayette Connector project, giving the area some hope that the interstate could be completed in the next several years. The $136-million Ambassador Caffery Parkway interchange will include elevated frontage roads, U-turn movements and widening the reconstruction of Ambassador Caffery to account for the new interchange.

The connector is a future 5.5mile segment of highway that will extend I-49 from I-10 to the Lafayette Regional Airport. The connector is a key component of I-49 South, which will function as a critical hurricane evacuation route, complete a major energy and trade corridor to the nation and enhance safety by providing new interstate connectivity within the Lafayette region and to New Orleans.

Finishing the elevated sections of the La. 1 Improvement

Project is equally important, as it would provide a critical route to Port Fourchon and the Louisiana Offshore Oil Loop (LOOP). There’s been progress there as well, as state leaders recently broke ground on Phase II of the La. 1 construction program, which will elevate 8.3 miles of the highway from Leeville to Golden Meadow. Once complete, there will be 19.3 miles of elevated expressway between Golden Meadow and Port Fourchon.

Unfortunately, the oil and gas industry in the region won’t benefit from the La. 1 project until the highway spans are complete. In the meantime, should the highway be incapacitated by a storm, the impact on the nation’s economy could be catastrophic.

Power Resilience

Electrical infrastructure resiliency in Louisiana has been top of mind ever since the storm-battered years of 2020-21. Without question, the task of restoring power in the wake of multiple catastrophic hurricanes was an unprecedented challenge for Entergy. Hurricane Ida alone damaged a record-breaking 30,000 power poles.

After making landfall near Fourchon, Ida traveled northward, wreaking devastation in countless communities along the way and significantly impacting the New Orleans and Baton Rouge metro areas. “

There were nearly 1 million customers without power,” says Phillip May, president and CEO of Entergy Louisiana. “Because of its path, Ida affected a very large number of customers.”

May says while the electrical infrastructure built since Katrina “weathered the recent storms quite well, we’re seeing an acceleration of storm severity and frequency … and that’s cause for concern.”

As such, last year Entergy Louisiana filed an “Entergy Future Ready” resiliency plan with the state Public Service Commission. The 10-year, $9.6 billion plan aims to replace electrical infrastructure across Louisiana with a newer, more resilient electrical grid. Entergy is also applying for grants under the Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience and

Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program.

If given the green light, the project will touch more than 9,600 distribution and transmission projects across the state. “We have 1 million poles south of I-10, so the program will take a while,” May says. “It doesn’t mean that the power will never go out, but we’ll have the ability to quickly respond and get the power back on, particularly to our critical customers.

“Instead of taking weeks to get the system back up after a major hurricane or other event, we’ll be able to do it in days. That’s the objective of a more resilient grid.”

The first phase of the plan will call for $5 billion in resiliency enhancements over five years. May hopes to have a decision from the PSC by end of this year. “That would kick off the initial phase of the plan the first part of 2024,” he adds.

Entergy collaborated with utility providers in Florida for assistance in developing the plan. “We looked at all hurricane data over the last 50-plus years, including every transmission structure, pole, line or device and put together a model. We then had hurricanes track over the system to determine what damage we could expect on that system.

“We also executed accelerated storm scenarios. That’s how we prioritized and developed those 9,600 distribution and transmission projects.”

Ticket To Ride

Like many of the state’s infrastructure needs, a proposed intercity passenger rail route between New Orleans and Baton Rouge has long been touted as vital for future commerce, but plagued by multiple stops and starts.

However, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, GNO Inc., and the SOLA Super Region Committee are calling the recent approval of the Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern merger the “most important step forward” for creating the long-proposed passenger rail link.

“The Surface Transportation Board decision specifically cited that CPKC has committed to supporting Amtrak’s plan for expanded passenger rail service, and that this helped win Amtrak’s endorsement of the merger,” the joint statement says. e groups also pointed to Amtrak’s national statement on the announcement, which said that CP “has committed to support Amtrak’s e orts to work with the Southern Rail Commission, states and other stakeholders for … establishing Amtrak service between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.” e state has hired consultants to begin the federally required environmental studies for the route and has also submitted a grant application for funding to help replace the Bonnet Carre bridge. e project, which could top $260 million, already has a few funding sources. e federal e $20 million RAISE grant represents only a portion of the $36.95 million Baton Rouge and Gonzales have jointly sought in federal funding for the stations. Including local matches, the total cost for the two stations would be $46.6 million. e Legislature last year also approved $12.5 million in unspent federal American Rescue Plan dollars to provide service between Baton Rouge and Sorrento.

At the recent Southern Rail Commission quarterly meeting, representatives from the state’s transportation department updated stakeholders about federal funds the state is pursuing.

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed in 2021, supplied funding for Amtrak to further its 15-year corridor vision plan, including the proposed passenger rail between the Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

Last year, U.S. Rep. Garret Graves’ o ce announced that the Baton Rouge-to-New Orleans rail project would receive $20 million in federal funding for real estate acquisition, design and construction of the Baton Rouge and Gonzalez train stations.