The move could help ease massive traffic tie-ups in all four directions leading to the Mississippi River Bridge in Baton Rouge.
John Dupont | Post South
A project that has been on the drawing board more than five years could come to fruition, thanks to an influx of federal money.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced last week its Build America Bureau has provided an $88.3 million loan to the Louisiana Bond Commission for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to build the La. 415 Connector, a new link between La. 1 and La. 415 at Interstate 10 in Port Allen.
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By providing Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act and Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing loans and other financing, the bureau helps communities expedite infrastructure projects and reduce project costs.
“The project is critical to improving resiliency and enhancing safety for people in the region by providing a direct connection and evacuation route for areas south of I-10,” Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg said. “The new access west of La. 1 will also support regional economic growth for residents and businesses in this area.”
This loan is part of a plan that includes $38 million in other federal funding for the $268 million project.
The project will build 2.7 miles of a new two-lane roadway to connect La. 1 and I-10, bridge structures over the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, a new interchange between La. 415 and La. 1, and modifications of the I-10 ramps at La. 415.
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“Louisiana strategically leveraged funding from a settlement with BP to finance a bundle of projects, which helped make the loan process more efficient,” Executive Director Morteza Farajian said. “This is the state’s seventh loan closed since 2021 for a total of $289 million, accelerating delivery of critical transportation solutions, including five rural projects.”
“If all projects funded by the BP settlement were to be funded on a PAYGO-only basis, the construction would not be able to begin until 2025,” DOTD Secretary Dr. Eric Kalivoda said. “By prioritizing the eligible projects that are ready and accelerating construction by borrowing through the TIFIA program against the BP settlement funding, the state has accelerated the project lettings by four years and saved approximately $75 million in inflation costs from a delayed construction start.”
The U.S. Department of Transportation has closed $39.8 billion in TIFIA financing, supporting more than $136.1 billion in infrastructure investment across the country.
Traffic tie-ups – some along the Intracoastal Waterway, others along Interstate 10 – often lead to bottlenecks that stretch several miles west of La. 415 and extend well past the I-10/I-12 split in Baton Rouge.
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The move would help speed up the transportation of goods along one of the most crucial stretches of Interstate 10, which extends from Los Angeles to Jacksonville, Fla.
The project was included in a $700 million infrastructure bill Gov. John Bel Edwards signed in June 2019.
As part of the legislation, the bill provides $125 million for a 2.7-mile connection from I-10 at La. 415 to La. 1 to an area near La. 988 (Beaulieu Lane) near the Intracoastal Waterway.
The project will require elevated structures, including flyover ramps northbound from La. 1 to southbound La. 1, according to DOTD.
The origins of an alternate route go back to 1972 when West Baton Rouge Parish government included it in the master plan, one year before completion of the stretch of I-10 between La. 415 and U.S. 167 (now I-49) in Lafayette.
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This new connector will assist in improving connectivity on I-10 in West Baton Rouge, as well as provide a relief route for local traffic during peak hours, divert traffic from accidents along La. 1, and provide a direct connection for commercial vehicles to facilities at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge.
It also will serve as an additional evacuation route for areas south of I-10.
Louisiana burst out to a 20-point halftime lead and then tacked on two late scores to beat Troy 51-30 on Saturday at Cajun Field in Lafayette, La.
The Trojans (3-8, 2-5 Sun Belt Conference) led 14-7 after one quarter but allowed 27 straight points in the second to fall behind 34-14 at halftime. After Troy cut the lead to 37-30 in the fourth quarter, Louisiana (9-2, 6-1) scored the final 14 points of the game to pull away.
“As crazy as this game was and the ride this season has been, I could not be more proud of the way that the team came out in the third quarter to get us back into this football game,” Troy coach Gerad Parker said. “There are so many good things, but there weren’t enough good things early. They got up on us, and then, some self-inflicted things made it so we could not get up on them in the second half.”
Troy’s four possessions in the second quarter ended in two interceptions, a three-and-out/punt and a turnover on downs. Louisiana, meanwhile, scored five straight times — three touchdowns and two field goals — in the quarter.
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Matthew Caldwell threw for 230 yards, four touchdowns and a pair of 2-point conversions for Troy, but was intercepted twice. His 1-yard TD pass to Trae Swartz and 2-point pass to Devonte Ross with 11:31 to play made it a 7-point game, but Robert Williams returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown to put the Ragin’ Cajuns back up by 14.
Louisiana’s Bill Davis added a 1-yard touchdown run — his third of the game — with 1:09 left to set the final score. Chandler Fields passed for 323 yards and two TDs for the Ragin’ Cajuns, who can clinch the Sun Belt West championship by winning at Louisiana-Monroe next Saturday.
Kenneth Almandares also kicked three field goals for Louisiana, while Fields threw scoring passes of 20 yards to Tavion Smith and 44 yards to Lance LeGendre. Keyon Martin had a pair of interceptions to lead the Ragin’ Cajuns’ defense, which broke up nine Troy passes.
In addition to the 1-yarder to Swartz, Caldwell’s touchdown passes covered 30 yards to Ross, six yards to Brody Dalton and four yards to Jackson Worley. Caldwell also threw two-point passes to Ross and Landon Parker.
Troy finishes the season at home next week vs. Southern Miss, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The game will stream live via ESPN+.
It’s the final home game of the season for the Arkansas Razorbacks as they host the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in a pivotal matchup at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
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With kickoff set for 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+, the stakes couldn’t be higher for the Razorbacks, who are eyeing bowl eligibility in their final push of the 2024 season.
Jonas Nantze #60 of the Arkansas Razorbacks runs onto the field before a game against the Texas Longhorns at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on November 16, 2024 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Jonas Nantze #60 of the Arkansas Razorbacks runs onto the field before a game against the Texas Longhorns at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on November 16, 2024 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images
How to Watch Arkansas vs Louisiana Tech:
Date: Saturday, November 23, 2024
Time: 4:00 PM ET
Channel/Stream: ESPN+
Stream: ESPN+ (watch now)
For Arkansas, this game is about seizing an opportunity to secure bowl eligibility after falling short in two previous attempts. The Razorbacks enter the matchup at 5-5, fresh off a 20-10 loss to Texas where offensive struggles and costly turnovers proved to be their undoing. With only two games left in the regular season, this matchup is a must-win for Arkansas to punch their ticket to the postseason.
On the other side, Louisiana Tech is playing spoiler while clinging to its slim bowl hopes. The Bulldogs are 4-6 but riding high after a gritty 12-7 victory over Western Kentucky last week, where their defense served the Hilltoppers their first conference loss of the year. This will be a battle on Saturday, make sure to tune in.
WATCH: Arkansas vs. Louisiana Tech on ESPN+
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Louisiana voters will decide whether to make it easier to send younger teenagers to adult prisons in a constitutional proposal next spring.
The Louisiana Legislature approved Senate Bill 2 Friday with a 70-25 vote in the House of Representatives and 28-10 vote in the Senate. The measure will be on the March 29 ballot that will also feature a major rewrite of state financial policy.
It would remove constitutional limits on crimes that can get people under age 17 sentenced as adults. Legislators would then have to enact new laws outlining how courts could send those minors to adult facilities.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry backed the proposal and sat in the Louisiana House of Representatives as legislators debated and voted for the bill Friday. Still, it barely made it through the legislative process. The proposal only received 70 votes in the House, the exact number it needed to advance to voters.
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Ahead of the narrow victory, Republican leaders appeared anxious to get through the House vote quickly and moved to cut off debate and questioning early. House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice, also told Rep. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge, she had missed a deadline to amend the legislation and refused to let her bring up her proposed change for debate or a vote.
One of the sponsors of the legislation, Rep. Debbie Villio, R-Kenner, also made a last-minute change to the bill to limit the offenses for which youth could be moved to adult prisons to just felonies, in part to address reservations lawmakers had about moving more young people into adult facilities. Prior to that change, the amendment would have allowed the Legislature to draft new laws to move minors to adult prisons for “any crime.”
Fifteen- and 16-year-olds, and in more restricted circumstances 14-year-olds, already face adult prison sentences for limited crimes without the constitutional amendment. Those offenses include murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, rape, armed robbery, kidnapping, aggravated battery, a second or subsequent burglary of an inhabited dwelling and a second or subsequent violation of some drug crimes.
Youth advocates have said the broadening of that list to new offenses would do lasting harm to young teens caught up in the criminal justice system.
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Teenagers transferred into adult prisons are at much higher risk for sexual abuse from other inmates and don’t receive the same counseling and educational services available in the juvenile system. Adult sentences are also often years or even decades longer than what youth in juvenile facilities serve, advocates said.
Supporters of the constitutional amendment, which include the Louisiana District Attorneys Association and Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association, have said prosecutors need a larger list of crimes in order to hold younger teens accountable.
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Villio and Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek, the sponsors of the legislation, mentioned a few crimes they think should be added to the list. Cloud said she would like to make the law applicable to carjacking, drive-by shootings and human trafficking. Villio said she was interested in adding fentanyl offenses.
Attorneys who represent youth in criminal matters said many of those offenses can be used to transfer teenagers to adult prison under current law.
They also questioned why human trafficking was being brought up as a concern because prosecutors rarely charge adults with that crime. Any teens accused of the offense are also likely being trafficked themselves, advocates said.
In an interview Friday, Villio said her intention is to get more crimes that “involve serious bodily injury” added to the list. Youth in the juvenile justice system who attack security guards and other workers at those facilities should receive harsher punishment, she added. Villio’s proposal comes on the heels of another law that greatly expands the transfer of teens to adult facilities. Earlier this year, Landry and lawmakers passed legislation that treats all 17-year-olds as adults in the criminal justice system. The measure took away discretion from district attorneys to put accused 17-year-olds through the juvenile justice system instead of adult courts.
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