Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry was in Washington, D.C., Wednesday to ask for help to lower commercial tolls planned for the new Interstate 10-Calcasieu River Bridge in Lake Charles. He also spoke about the need for a streamlined federal environmental review process and help in building the I-10 Bridge in Baton Rouge.

“I have a hard time understanding why, if you are replacing a bridge that has been there for 50, 60  years, an environmental assessment is necessary to replace the bridge,” he said.

Landry testified before the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on “America Builds: The State of the Nation’s Transportation System.” It was the first Committee Activity for the Committee in the 119th Congress.

Landry testified that it is time to look toward infrastructure policies that President-elect Donald Trump had put in place to regulate barriers during his previous administration, especially the One Federal Decision.

The policy, implemented in 2017, urges a single permitting timetable or schedule for reviews with decisions authorized within 90 days of the issuance of record of decision, according to information on the United States Department of Transportation website.

“In order to make America an exceptional country, our people, our commerce must be able to move efficiently and effectively over reliable and improved infrastructure,” he said.

Landry said Louisiana moved half-a-trillion dollars in freight in 2022, ranking it as 16th in the country. It was 25th in population. The state is expected to have the third-largest freight growth in the nation by 2050. It has five of the top 15 ports in the country moving half-a-billion tons of cargo.

“Without the investments in our roads, bridges and ports, supply chains falter. Manufacture slows. Consumers face delays,” the governor said.

He highlighted the urgency for the Calcasieu River Bridge replacement with the following data — 90,000 vehicles a day move over the bridge;  the National Bridge Inspection ranks the bridge a 3 with 1 being the lowest ranking and 9 being the highest; and he compared the Lake Charles Bridge to the Baltimore Bridge that collapsed. It was ranked a 5 by National Bridge Inspection.

Landry also asked for help in speeding the process of the state’s taking on 404 (b)permitting that was once the purview of the Corp of Engineers, and he asked for help to build a new I-10 Mississippi River Bridge in Baton Rouge. He said he is not asking for the full expense, just help and he is not averse to a P-3 project that is tolled, as is the plan for the Lake Charles bridge.