Miles SmithThe Louisiana State Bond Commission has cleared the way for a bond sale of up to $2 billion that will provide funding for a toll bridge on Interstate 10 over Calcasieu Lake outside Lake Charles.
The state’s bond commission approved the bond sale during a meeting held this week.
Work on the bridge will begin once the bonds are funded, Louisiana State Sen. Mark Abraham said.
Approximately $1.2 billion of the project cost will be covered by state and federal funds. Calcasieu Bridge Partners (CBP) will oversee the maintenance of the construction, maintenance and operation of the new I-10 Calcasieu River bridge and will cover the remaining costs and recoup its investment using a toll system.
If the project stays on schedule, Abraham said the new bridge would be complete in about seven years.
“They will start construction and overlay of roads that lead up to the bridge. That will probably take a year or two,” Abraham said. “They’ll start this year. Then about two years from now they’ll probably start the construction on the bridge which is expected to be finished in about seven years.”
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development signed the agreement with the private firm to build the toll bridge over Calcasieu Lake outside Lake Charles in February, reviving a deal that had been killed four years earlier
The legislative committee originally signed off on the P3 concept in December 2020. However, it soured on the idea in part because proposed toll rates were heavily weighted toward local and long-haul truckers.
The DOTD said the new proposed toll rates on trucks would be just $8.25 with a toll tag and $12.36 without. Under the previous proposal, rates for large trucks would have been $12.50 with a toll tag and $18.73 without.
The project involves building a 5.5-mile corridor stretching from near Ryan Street in Lake Charles to the I-210 and I-10 interchange in Westlake. Along with the new bridge and approaches, the project includes interstate roadways and ramps, the I-10 service roads, and interchanges at PPG Drive, Sampson Street, and North Lakeshore/Ryan Street that connect the interstate to state roads and local streets. Sampson Street will be elevated over the railroad tracks to eliminate blockages from trains.
The existing span is a four lane, precast concrete and steel Warren truss bridge over Calcasieu Lake.
