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