BATON ROUGE, LA — The U.S. Department of Transportation announces that its Build America Bureau has provided a $88.3 million loan to the Louisiana State Bond Commission for the benefit of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) to build the LA 415 Connector, a new link between LA 1 and LA 415 at Interstate 10 (I-10) in the City of Port Allen in Baton Rouge Parish. By providing Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) and Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing (RRIF) 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,” said Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg. “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 deliver 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.

“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,” said LADOTD Executive Director Eric Kalivoda, Ph.D. “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.”