At the February 19 Plaquemines Association of Business & Industry (PABI) luncheon, local business owners and government officials heard a fairly extensive update on the various highway and bridge projects occurring throughout the parish. Giving this update was of panel of speakers that included state representative for Plaquemines Jacob Braud, Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development (LADOTD) public information officer for the New Orleans area Daniel Gitlin, LADOTD New Orleans area engineer Corbett Hollier, Plenary’s project manager for the Belle Chasse Bridge project Brian Canavier, and Plaquemines Sheriff’s Office Major Grant Solis.
While there were many speakers at the luncheon, there was very little information provided in the update that wasn’t already known. The projects focused on by the speakers were the Peters Road Bypass, the Belle Chasse Toll Bridge, and the roundabout planned to be built on Woodland Highway. Steady progress has been made on these projects, and, based on the comments from the luncheon, it would appear that residents should expect some significant updates on these infrastructure projects in the near future.
On the Peters Road Bypass, Gitlin explained that there has been “renewed energy” for the project in the state government. This specific project, as residents may know, was first proposed decades ago; yet, it never received the funding needed to advance its development. In recent years, there has been a renewed push from the Plaquemines government, port, and Jefferson Parish to secure funds for this project and see it developed. During the PABI luncheon, Gitlin stated that these efforts have had a real impact, noting that the project may receive state funding much sooner than residents may expect.
At this time, he couldn’t give an exact date of when this money would be allocated to the project but he emphasized that he was fairly confident that it would be soon.
“You guys are really turning a corner here…The fact that there is a real focus to get Peters Road moving forward [in the state government] shows how hard you all pushed for this,” Gitlin stated.
The project, currently, is still in the early planning/ design phase of its development. Back in 2024, the Plaquemines Port received a $7.4 million grant from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to implement a redesign process. This is still ongoing and will take the original 100 foot design and bring it down to a 73 foot tall bridge. Braud explained that the expected cost for a bridge of this size is around $175 million.
An attendee of the PABI luncheon asked if the Peters Road Bypass would be a toll bridge (like the new Belle Chasse Bridge). Braud responded by explaining that it’s still too early in the project’s development to know if this will be the case. However, it will probably be an option that is considered by the state.
The roundabout at the Woodland Highway and F Edward Hebert Boulevard intersection, Gitlin stated, was “greenlit” and LADOTD was in the process of acquiring the necessary right-of-ways for the project. Construction should be early next year, according to Gitlin. There were some concerns about traffic flow on Woodland Highway during the roundabout’s construction expressed at the luncheon. But it was explained that roundabout construction is relatively unobtrusive. For the most part, traffic shouldn’t be too negatively impacted, and once the roundabout really advances through construction it should actually benefit traffic flow.
The new Belle Chasse Toll Bridge—which was supposed to be completed all the way back in April 2024—Canavier stated, is finally getting to the point where both the north and south lanes can be opened to traffic. Specifically, he said that Plenary was “fairly confident” that both lanes would be open in early March.
It should be noted that tolling will not immediately begin once the bridge is open. Canavier explained that the bridge will have to be accepted by LADOTD and the tolling infrastructure will have to be fully operational first—this will include necessary testing. Depending on how the process goes, tolling could begin shortly after the bridge has fully opened to traffic.
Currently, Plenary is in the process of hosting a series of in person GeauxPass registration events. Two have been held in the month of February and there will be two more held in March. Both will be held in the Belle Chasse auditorium: one on March 24 from 12 pm to 6 pm and one on March 26 from 9 am to 3 pm.
On the whole, the luncheon showed that the parish is on the verge of seeing a major project like the Belle Chasse Bridge be completed (with tolls following soon behind it) while other projects that have been long sought after are about to see major advancements.
