‘It’s going to be decades before you see a new bridge’: I-10 Bridge proposal shot down

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - The I-10 Calcasieu River Bridge replacement project was rejected by the Joint Transportation Committee today.

House members voted eight to six against the proposal, which included $800 million in public funding and a toll.

Because both houses would need to approve the item, the committee moved on without a Senate vote.

The vote came after DOTD Secretary Eric Kalivoda, along with a member of Calcasieu Bridge Partners, presented the proposal to the committee.

Kalivoda said the consequences of canceling the project include potentially losing a $150-million federal grant.

Testimony from Southwest Louisiana officials along with members of the public filled Tuesday morning’s Joint Transportation Committee meeting. Some voiced concern the bridge is not safe.

“I’m scared to death when I get on top that bridge, don’t let the traffic stall, I’m scared to death,” State Rep. Wilford Carter (D-Lake Charles) said during the meeting.

Many truckers were on the other side, explaining the tolls would affect their business.

“You know it’s going to be expensive. I’ve already testified that it’s going to create a burden,” said Brad Nelson with Freedom Trucks.

George Swift with the SWLA Chamber spoke on the need for the new I-10 Calcasieu River Bridge.

“People are afraid to go over it even though it is structurally sound, it is a dangerous bridge that needs to be replaced,” he said.

The discussion of rehabilitating the current bridge was brought to the table. Kalivoda explained two different options for that.

“One option is a pay-as-you-go. As you get money you eventually finish the bridge building it in pieces and assembling it like a jigsaw puzzle. The other option is to set up a public tolling authority that would still have a toll on it, but it will be a public tolling authority, not a private tolling authority to pay for the bridge, so those are really the two options that are available now,” he said.

Whichever rehabilitation project is implemented will include the state paying the cancellation stipend of $2.75 million to the Calcasieu Bridge Partners.

“We are going to continue on developing the bridge, but the delivery model will be different, and we are going to go on a pay-as-you-go process, and if people are expecting to see a new bridge any time soon, don’t get your hopes up. It’s going to be decades before you see a new bridge,“ Kalivoda said.

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