Louisiana's first P3 project opening after delay

Huval Associates

Louisiana's first public-private partnership project, the Belle Chasse Bridge, opened recently, 11 months later than projected.

The Belle Chasse Bridge's four lanes of north- and south-bound traffic opened in mid-March and tolling is expected to start Tuesday.

The bridge was planned to open in April 2024, but subsidence of the newly constructed north and south approaches to the bridge delayed this. The high-level bridge replaces an old drawbridge and tunnel carrying traffic to and from Plaquemines Parish, southeast of New Orleans.

Louisiana has penalized the developer, Plenary Americas, $10,000 a day in liquidated damages since the April 2024 deadline. Plenary is one of three P3 developers for the new Calcasieu Bridge near Lake Charles, Louisiana, for which $1.3 billion in private-activity bonds were priced in August.

When the state approved the P3 for the Belle Chasse Bridge in 2019, financing was expected from five sources, with one of them to be a $53 million toll revenue bond. This was not issued. The financing sources used were $12.5 million grant anticipation revenue vehicle (GARVEE) bonds, $45 million U.S. Department of Treasury Infrastructure for Rebuilding America grant, $34.4 million federal/state funds allocated to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and $12 million regional planning commission funding.

The tolls on the bridge will vary depending on the vehicles' size, the driver's residence and whether they are using the state's GeauxPass electronic charging mechanism and will range from 25 cents to $8.67.

The Calcasieu Bridge project is planned to be completed in four segments, the first in late 2029 and the last in fall 2031.