Offshore staff
GOLDEN MEADOW, Louisiana -- In the recently completed second special legislative session, Louisiana legislators approved the allocation of $2 million in state surplus funds for Phase 2 of the Louisiana Highway 1 (LA 1) improvement project in southern Lafourche Parish. The money will be used by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) to purchase right-of-way for a new two-lane, elevated highway that will stretch eight mi (13 km) from Golden Meadow south to Leeville.
"Time and time again, the State of Louisiana has demonstrated their commitment to this critical infrastructure project by providing the necessary funds to keep it on track, and we are appreciative of that," says Ted Falgout, LA 1 coalition chairman. "This latest show of support by Governor Bobby Jindal and our 2008 Louisiana Legislature is just what the doctor ordered, so to speak, to allow DOTD to begin acquiring right-of-ways and plan for the final engineering and design of Phase 2."
In December 2007, DOTD contracted with engineering firm Wilbur Smith and Associates to provide final right-of-way drawings by August 2008 for the eight-mi stretch of two-lane elevated highway from Golden Meadow to Leeville. While the recently approved $2 million in surplus funds will be used to acquire the identified right-of-ways, the total estimate for the land acquisition is $2.5 million. The DOTD currently has an additional funding request for land acquisition submitted to the State Capital Outlay Program. The LA 1 Coalition has also submitted appropriation requests to the Congress for funds to pay for final engineering and design of Phase 2, as well as anticipated cost associated with relocating/deepening pipelines within the final right-of-way.
Construction is now under way on Phase 1 of the LA 1 Improvement project, which includes a fixed high-level bridge across Bayou Lafourche in Leeville and a two-lane, elevated highway from Leeville to Fourchon. The fixed high-level bridge in Leeville is scheduled for completion in 2009, while the elevated highway between Leeville and Port Fourchon is scheduled to open in 2011.
03/24/2008
