SLS 16RS-4005 ORIGINAL
2016 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 183
BY SENATORS LAMBERT AND BROWN
TRANSPORTATION/DEV DEPT. Requests the Department of Transportation and
Development to repurpose certain congressional earmarked funds for the planning, design,
and construction of the widening and improvement of certain portions of LA 30.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To urge and request the Department of Transportation and Development to repurpose
3 congressional funds earmarked for the planning, design, and construction of the
4 Pointe Clair Expressway for the widening and improvement of certain portions of
5 Louisiana Highway 30.
6 WHEREAS, Louisiana Highway 30 is used as a major thoroughfare by those who
7 live and work in the parishes of Ascension, East Baton Rouge, and Iberville; and
8 WHEREAS, Louisiana Highway 30 is a vitally important state route in the parishes
9 of Ascension, East Baton Rouge, and Iberville, not only because of the growth of new
10 residential neighborhoods and increased economic development in those areas, but because
11 the two-lane highway is already a major business and commuter corridor, and widening
12 portions of this highway can ease heavy traffic congestion currently being experienced on
13 Interstate Highway 10; and
14 WHEREAS, the role of Louisiana Highway 30 as a commuter corridor will only
15 intensify with further congestion on Interstate Highway 10 and the strong possibility that a
16 new Mississippi River bridge will tie into it; and
17 WHEREAS, studies have shown that building a new bridge without an improved
18 Louisiana Highway 30 would leave traffic stuck on that highway, effectively undermining
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SLS 16RS-4005 ORIGINAL
1 the added capacity of a new one billion dollar bridge; and
2 WHEREAS, ultimately, a widened Louisiana Highway 30 and a new Mississippi
3 River bridge would provide much needed traffic relief that is needed for the parishes of
4 Ascension, East Baton Rouge, and Iberville, and would also provide an alternate route to a
5 congested Interstate Highway 10 between Gonzales and Baton Rouge; and
6 WHEREAS, prior to September 30, 2005, two million four hundred three thousand
7 five hundred forty dollars were earmarked for the plan, design, and construction of the
8 Pointe Clair Expressway in Iberville Parish; and
9 WHEREAS, Section 125 of the Department of Transportation Appropriations Act,
10 2016 (Pub. L. No. 114-113, Division L, Title I), provides the authority for a state or territory
11 to repurpose any earmark that was designated on or before September 30, 2005, and is less
12 than ten percent obligated, or to apply unexpended balances of funds from projects or
13 activities the state or territory certifies have been closed and for which payments have been
14 made under a final voucher; and
15 WHEREAS, the repurposed funds may be obligated on a new or existing project in
16 the state within fifty miles of the earmark designation; and
17 WHEREAS, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 requires the repurpose of
18 these funds occur prior to the end of the 2016 federal fiscal year; and
19 WHEREAS, the potential repurpose of these funds does not diminish the importance
20 of the Pointe Clair Expressway project; and
21 WHEREAS, Louisiana Highway 30 in the parishes of Ascension, East Baton Rouge,
22 and Iberville is within the congressional designated fifty-mile radius of the geographical area
23 for which the funding was originally designated; and
24 WHEREAS, these funds could be used to make much needed improvements to the
25 Louisiana Highway 30 corridor in the parishes of East Baton Rouge, Ascension, and
26 Iberville by construction of intersection improvements with left turn lanes.
27 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
28 does hereby urge and request the Department of Transportation and Development to
29 repurpose congressional funds earmarked for the planning, design, and construction of the
30 Pointe Clair Expressway in Iberville Parish to fund the design and construction of needed
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1 improvements to the intersections of Louisiana Highway 74 and Louisiana Highway 30 in
2 Saint Gabriel, Louisiana, Louisiana Highway 73 and Louisiana Highway 30 in Geismar,
3 Louisiana, Louisiana Highway 30 at Veterans in Gonzales, Louisiana, and any other
4 intersections on Louisiana Highway 30.
5 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation and
6 Development should repurpose these funds prior to the end of the 2016 federal fiscal year
7 as required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016.
8 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation and
9 Development should fund and utilize the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Planning Organization,
10 which includes the parishes of Ascension, East Baton Rouge, and Iberville, and should enter
11 into construction contracts for the improvements of any intersection in the Louisiana
12 Highway 30 corridor within one year.
13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
14 secretary of the Department of Transportation and Development.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Sharon F. Lyles.
DIGEST
SR 183 Original 2016 Regular Session Lambert
Requests DOTD to repurpose congressional funds earmarked for the planning, design, and
construction of the Pointe Clair Expressway in Iberville Parish for the design and
construction of intersection improvements on LA 30.
Requests DOTD to repurpose the earmarked funds prior to the end of the 2016 federal fiscal
year as mandated by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016.
Requests DOTD to fund and utilize the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Planning Organization
which includes the parishes of Ascension, East Baton Rouge, and Iberville.
Requests DOTD to enter into construction contracts for the improvement of any intersection
in the LA 30 corridor within one year.
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