2022 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 41
BY SENATORS CONNICK, ABRAHAM, BARROW, BOUDREAUX, BOUIE, CARTER,
CLOUD, FOIL, HENSGENS, MCMATH, FRED MILLS, ROBERT
MILLS, MIZELL, PEACOCK, POPE, PRICE, REESE, STINE,
TALBOT AND WOMACK AND REPRESENTATI VE CORMIER
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the legislative auditor to review the Belle Chasse bridge and tunnel
public-private partnership project and if applicable, to develop recommendations for
future public-private partnership projects based on best practices.
WHEREAS, the Belle Chasse bridge and tunnel public-private partnership project
consists of constructing a new, fixed span bridge and demolition of the existing bridge and
tunnel for an estimated cost of one hundred sixty-five million dollars; and
WHEREAS, R.S. 48:250.4 authorizes the Department of Transportation and
Development (DOTD), with approval of the Senate and House committees on transportation,
highway, and public works, to solicit proposals and enter into contracts for public-private
partnership (P3) projects for transportation facilities; and
WHEREAS, the Belle Chasse bridge and tunnel replacement project is DOTD's first
solicited tolled P3 project in Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, both the House and Senate committees meeting jointly authorized
DOTD to move forward with the P3 process for the Belle Chasse bridge and tunnel
replacement project on December 14, 2017; and
WHEREAS, the DOTD entered into an initial comprehensive agreement with
Plenary Infrastructure Belle Chasse LLC on December 20, 2019, for the Belle Chasse bridge
and tunnel replacement project; and
WHEREAS, DOTD secured approximately ninety-five million dollars in federal
grants, funds, and bonds for the project, leaving a balance of approximately seventy million
dollars brought by the private partner, who in return will charge a toll on the completed
bridge to realize a return on investment; and
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WHEREAS, this project will result in a toll on the main transportation artery to
twenty-three thousand residents, leaving the only other route a two lane undivided road
without a shoulder that does not quickly lead to hospitals, major shopping centers, or cultural
centers; and
WHEREAS, serious concerns from the public have been raised over the project and
the P3 process, particularly the lack of competitive bidding with only single bid negotiation,
the lack of transparency, the total cost of the project, and the windfall for the private partner
realized from the toll; and
WHEREAS, as collaborations between the state and the private sector are likely in
the future, it would benefit the public to have the legislative auditor review the process that
resulted in the execution of the agreement with Plenary Infrastructure Belle Chasse LLC, to
inform the legislature and executive branch to develop best practices that protect the public,
while insuring quality construction projects that serve the people of Louisiana.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request that the legislative auditor review the Belle Chasse bridge and tunnel
public-private partnership project and, if applicable, to make recommendations for future
public-private partnership projects based on best practices.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
state legislative auditor, the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and
Development.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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