How anyone in the Louisiana Legislature, four leaders in particular, can oppose setting aside $500 million for a new Interstate 10 bridge over the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge is beyond belief. The daily congestion at the current bridge has been recognized as one of this country’s major transportation bottlenecks.

Adam Knapp, president, and CEO of the BRAC (Baton Rouge Area Chamber), said Monday, “This may be a once-in-a-lifetime moment where the state has the resources to make a big capital commitment to a big, signature project for Louisiana.”

The state is enjoying one of its best financial outlooks in years, with $2.9 billion generated by better-than-expected state revenue and federal pandemic aid. And President Joe Biden’s $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act holds the promise of additional billions for Louisiana.

Knapp said, “We all have to drive through the Baton Rouge area. Whether you’re from Lake Charles or Shreveport or New Orleans, at some point you’re crossing the state you’re crossing through this bottleneck, so it’s kind of a collective problem for the state’s economy to deal with this. We hope the Legislature will see that.”

Gov. John Bel Edwards in his opening address to the Legislature said, “We’ve made significant progress, but the funds we are receiving from the federal government will allow us to catapult big-ticket projects from talk to action.”

The four Republican leaders who are questioning the set aside of $500 million are Senate President Page Cortez of Lafayette, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerome “Zee” Zeringue of Houma, House Speaker Pro Tem Tanner Magee of Houma and Senate Finance Chairman Bodi White of Central, the most surprising opponent of all since he lives in the Baton Rouge area.

Zeringue said what the other leaders are saying. “Squirreling away $500 million into a project that is five-plus years away is not in the best interest of the state,” he said. And Zeringue is a key player in writing the final budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

Rep. Sam Jenkins, D-Shreveport, and chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said his members want to be sure the bridge money won’t affect other spending priorities. Edwards knows he needs support of Democrats and he isn’t going to let that happen.

House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales, was the leadership’s major exception, according to The Advocate. He said Edwards’ plan had his full support.

“Anyone who has ever driven through Baton Rouge knows the Mississippi River bridge is a huge problem,” Schexnayder said.

Others who support Edwards’ plan offered excellent feedback to the leadership’s concerns. They said the money can be put to immediate use and will help draw federal dollars for a structure expected to cost $2 billion.

Jay Campbell, chairman of the Capital Area Road and Bridge District, said, “There is lots of bridge design work that can be done. But it takes dedicated dollars to do that. Those dollars are not going to just be sitting on the side.”

Officials hope to narrow the list of potential bridge sites to three this year and settle on a location in 2024. The public will get its first look at 15 possible crossing sites this spring, and public hearings will be required once the list is narrowed.

Campbell said, “If you don’t have the citizen meetings and public  meetings about the three sites, you are going to violate their (federal) rules and then you’re disqualified for federal matching dollars for a bridge like this. It is a process you have to go through.”

Scott Kirkpatrick, executive director for the Capital Region Industry for Sustainable Infrastructure Solutions, said he is confident lawmakers from the Baton Rouge area will have a very compelling plan to land aid for the bridge. “And I think the leadership will make sure we don’t miss our chance.”

Shawn Wilson, secretary for the state Department of Transportation and Development, said, “Without the dollars, we can’t go very far or very fast.” And Wilson needs dedicated funding in order to seek Wall Street help and a national partner to build the bridge.

Edwards is also setting aside $100 million for a new bridge at Lake Charles and $100 million for work on Interstate 49. Money has already been committed for both those projects, and that helps keep them moving.

Setting Baton Rouge bridge money aside will help jumpstart quicker movement on that major project that, as Knapp mentioned, has a statewide impact. We hope a majority of legislators see the wisdom in keeping that money in the budget.