The Capital Region Legislative Delegation meets today with Governor Jindal to discuss the delegation’s priorities for the upcoming legislative session. The Delegation, which organized last March, first met with the administration at the end of the 2008 Regular Session to begin a dialogue with them about the delegation’s goals and then again last fall to discuss the delegation’s state surplus spending priorities. Today’s meeting allowed the delegation to sit down formally as a group with the Governor himself for the first time and discuss the funding priorities for the Capital Region.
After many meetings and much research the Capital Region Legislative Delegation has set forth the following transportation infrastructure and higher education infrastructure projects as its priorities to see funded during the 2009 Regular Session.
$15 Million for the Pecue Lane Interchange Ramps. This proposed use of state surplus funds would match $1 Million in federal funds already appropriated to the project and $20 Million in local funds from Mayor Holden’s Green Light Project already appropriated. This project is estimated to have about a 26% peak hour traffic reduction on Siegen and a 19% peak hour traffic reduction on Highland. Additionally, the Pecue project will ease access to healthcare when the Woman’s Hospital site opens as well as stimulate economic growth through development around the area.
$90 Million for the I-12 Widening from Range to Walker, plus the AmiteBridge to Range portion of I-12 that was left out of the current project. This proposed use of state surplus funds would go to widen I-12 thereby mitigating roughly 767,000 hours of peak traffic congestion in the region annually. The widening of the interstate system through Baton Rouge is a key project that first and foremost provides safer highways to travel on, eases access to healthcare services for those in the surrounding areas who come to Baton Rouge for treatment and creates a better quality of life for the citizens of our region so they are spending less time in traffic and more time at home with their families.
$72 Million for the I-10 Widening from Siegen to Highland. This proposed use of federal stimulus funds would pick up where the current Split to Siegen widening project leaves off. Ultimately we would like to see I-10 widened out to LA 73 which would mitigate roughly 800,000 hours of peak traffic congestion in the capital region annually. This project has the same needs and benefits as the I-12 widening project.
$4 Million for I-10 Interchange Ramps at Commercial Drive. This proposed use of Capital Outlay funds would go to complete the first phase of a project that has been on the books since 1987 at which time federal funds were appropriated for environmental clearance, right-of-way acquisition and construction plans and completed in 1993. This project is important to the region because of the large volume of truck traffic servicing the sites along Commercial Drive where there has been significant development over the past several years. These ramps would provide for more direct access to the Commercial Drive corridor and relieve traffic congestion at the LA 1 and LA 415 intersections.
$7.5 Million for Southern University to fully fund the replacement of hot and chilled water lines. This proposed use of Capital Outlay dollars would move the current Priority 5 funding for this project into Priority 1 so that the project can move forward and be completed. This is a project that has been on Southern’s Capital Outlay request over 5 years. When there is an issue with the water lines a
$10 Million for LouisianaStateUniversity to acquire the frontage land at the South Campus site off GSRI Avenue in Baton Rouge. This proposed use of capital outlay funds would allow LSU to purchase the land surrounding the current South Campus with the ultimate goal of housing LSU’s research and economic development efforts at that site.
$120 Million for Earl K. Long to build out the urgent care, lab, and imaging space at the clinic in North Baton Rouge; renovate and make necessary additions to develop a trauma center at OLOL; renovate and make necessary additions to add at least an additional 60 inpatient beds at OLOL; construction of a medical education building for offices and teaching space for faculty, residents, and students to be built on site of OLOL. The LSU System currently has $24 million already appropriated for planning and land acquisition of a new hospital and have been told the administration would support redirecting to this project should it come to fruition. While LSU System officials are still working through detailed space and cost analysis, they believe the $120 Million should cover their needs. As a side note, the system estimated the need and cost for a new facility was 199 beds at $460 million not including land cost.
Additionally, the delegation supports the Greater Baton Rouge Loop and will be working to schedule a meeting with the area parish presidents to discuss the next phase of the loop and its funding needs.
The Capital Region Legislative Delegation believes that these projects must be funded during this legislative session so that the backlog of needs in the region can begin to be addressed in a systematic way. Additionally, given the economic outlook, there may not be another opportunity to wipe some of these larger projects off the books. The delegation also believes these projects will stimulate continued economic growth in the region, improve access to healthcare, improve highway safety, improve higher education and overall improve the quality of life for the citizens of not only the Capital Region but in many ways the entire state.
$15 Million for the Pecue Lane Interchange Ramps? You have got to be B.S’ing…. That is almost 4 million dollars each for entrance and exit ramps that are only 6 or 700 feet long each? That is almost equal to $6,000.00 per foot!!!!........ $90 Million for the I-12 Widening from Range to Walker? Around 5.5 miles, For the most part, open area on both sides of 1-12 from Range to Walker….. That comes down to around $3,000.00 per foot……. Still pretty retarded…….. $72 Million for the I-10 Widening from Siegen to Highland? 2.5 miles or so? For the most part, open area on both sides of 1-10 from Siegen to Heighland? Again, getting into 5 to 6 thousand dollars per linear foot, and the Pecue Lane Interchange ramps are within this section raising the overall cost for this 2.5 miles of road (4 lanes) to 87 million???? Oh sure, there are a couple of bridges involved here and there along these projects, but seriously folks, this is sort of totally ridiculous…. And I am sure a lot of the other expenditures on this article are as well….. Written by
on 3/24/2009
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