“We want to thank Governor Jeff Landry and the Louisiana Legislature for this significant funding commitment,” said Ronald Wendel, Jr., Port NOLA Acting President & CEO and Acting CEO of the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad. “These critical infrastructure projects will solidify Louisiana’s position as the premier global gateway in the Gulf, ensure thousands of jobs, as well as long-term economic growth for the region and state.”
LIT received $10 million in direct state general funding and $140 million in Priority 5 state funding that will support design and construction activities. An additional $50 million in state funding remains secured to support construction of the St. Bernard Transportation Corridor, as well as $30.5 million ($3 million of which is in the direct state general fund) for rehabilitation, planning, and construction of the St. Claude Bridge.
Port NOLA continues to prioritize development of the St. Bernard Transportation Corridor as a parallel project with construction of the LIT. The Regional Planning Commission awarded a contract to GIS Engineering LLC in June 2023 to study the corridor and other roadway improvements that will support LIT and St. Bernard Parish for decades to come.
LIT will be built in Violet, Louisiana, 17 miles downriver from the Crescent City Connection bridge, eliminating air draft restrictions for vessels that currently call on the Port of New Orleans. It will serve vessels of all sizes, dramatically increasing Louisiana’s import and export capacity, foster strategic inland growth, and allow both container-on-barge and intermodal services to expand.
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LIT is the largest public economic development project in the state of Louisiana. By 2050, it is expected to generate 32,000 new jobs nationwide, more than 18,000 in Louisiana, 4,300 in St. Bernard Parish as well as more than $1 billion in new state and local tax revenue.
The $230.5 million state commitment is in addition to $300 million in landmark federal funding awarded to Port NOLA earlier this year to assist in building LIT. That is the largest federal investment in a new container terminal in the history of the U.S. Department of Transportation. LIT has also garnered support from more than a dozen ports in six states as well as from major trade and agriculture associations throughout the heartland of America.
LIT is currently in the federal permitting process. Construction is expected to begin in 2025 with the first berth opening in 2028.
