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March 19, 2013
For now it’s still a dream, but a local lawmaker says progress toward reality is at an unprecedented level.
Transformation of a highway hodgepodge into one seamless component of the U.S. interstate highway system to be known as I-49 is a driving force for state Sen. Bret Allain (R-Franklin), who has been hosting stakeholder meetings and seeking members for a board that will direct efforts to direct federal dollars into the project.
Development of I-49 as a vital thoroughfare for what he calls the nation’s energy corridor will depend on a strong push from local businesses whose futures are linked to the movement of oil and gas industry tools and components, Allain told business and government leaders at a meeting last week.
Politicians and business people gathered in a classroom at Fletcher Technical Community College, where he shared information on a new Web site designed to get the grass-roots project off the ground as well as driving home the reasons for its importance. Allain has already helped organize a group, called the I-49 South Coalition, which will seek government money and approvals for segments of the highway that will link New Orleans to Lafayette and north.
“My mission is to get this thing organized to where we can seat a board,” Allain said. “At that time it will be the board’s mission to come up with their own bylaws and their own initiatives and do a search for a director.”
Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet was among the attendees at last week’s meeting. He expressed concerns about dollars sought for widespread improvements for La. 1, the state highway linking Port Fourchon with greater Louisiana and therefore the nation, which he sees as more directly vital to the well-being of his parish.
“We are putting this together to be a complement to La 1,” Allain said. “La 1 is important, but I don’t want to overlook the importance of I-49 either. The eventual goal would be I-49 as an interstate and a 4-lane connection to La 1. So I really don’t think we are competing as much as it would be more complementing.”
The existing I-49 runs from Lafayette to Opelousas, then up to Alexandria and Shreveport, where it meets I-20. U.S. 90 east of Lafayette through Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Charles and Jefferson parishes is considered the I-49 corridor, the future site for I-49. The eventual goal is for it to link New Orleans to points west via I-10 or I-20 and northward from I-20 to Kansas City, Mo. There is a stretch of the road planned for Arkansas but highway officials there said for now there is no federal money available for work on the project.
There is a segment of I-49 in Missouri stretching 185 miles from Kansas City to Pineville, but construction beyond that has been halted. Plans are for the highway to stretch from Pineville southward.
“We have got the money set aside to build it but we need a commitment from Arkansas,” said Angela Eden, senior specialist with the Missouri Department of Transportation’s southwest district.
Arkansas officials have said they don’t have the money to take on their end of the project yet, although they would like to do so. Commitment there for a highway called the Bella Vista Bypass was made by voters in 2012, but the plans approved called for a two-lane highway not up to interstate standards.
The current estimated cost for a completed I-49 in Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana is cited as $11.5 billion.
A connection with I-69, a leg of the Interstate system that exists but which is mostly – like I-49 – in the incomplete drawing board stage with few commitments for funding, is being sought by TexArkana interests. All of the interstate projects depend largely on federal money, although local outlays are welcome.
Allain said the highly successful La1 Coalition headed by Henri Boulet is a model he wants to use for his pet project, and Boulet has agreed to lend some of his experience and expertise when needed.
“There are transportation bills every couple of years and I want to make it a priority to get this into one of those,” Allain said. “I really believe that we can.”
The project was not slated for federal stimulus money when the Obama Administration developed its rescue plans when the U.S. economy tanked in 2009, but Allain said that future opportunities like that should be carefully viewed as a money source.
Some property and businesses among the current corridor – Frank’s Supermarket in Des Allemands among them – have expressed concerns that I-49 could displace them or make their locations obsolete.
Allain said for now those questions can’t be answered. Engineers could decide, for example, that the Des Allemands Bridge is not suited as an Interstate crossing and the highway could be moved from its current planned route. There is a strong possibility, Allain said, that the West Bank Expressway in Jefferson Parish could be easily incorporated into the project.
“Whatever is the most cost-effective and expedient way is what we are going to go with,” Allain said. “The idea is not to interrupt anyone’s business. I know that DOTD bends over backwards to accommodate people. We want to avoid expropriation.”
State Sen. Bret Allain (R-Franklin) speaks with constituents and others who attended an informational meeting on the I-49 corridor at Fletcher Technical Community College in Schriever last week.
