Yesterday, Governor Bobby Jindal announced a new cash management plan developed by the Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) that will free up $120 million in cash within the state’s transportation system to accelerate road work all across Louisiana. Governor Jindal made the announcement in Lafayette and stressed that the new cash management plan builds off of his administration’s continued commitment to improve the state’s transportation infrastructure. Since Governor Jindal entered office, a total of $3.36 billion in state and federal funds has been invested in the state’s roads – more than Louisiana’s last three governors combined over the same period of time.

The only project in East Baton Rouge Parish that is benefiting from the freed up funds is the Magnolia Bridge project. $23 million will be dedicated to the Amite River Bridge on Magnolia Bridge Road. This project will replace the bridge on LA-64 that connects East Baton Rouge and Livingston Parishes.  The new structure will accommodate the possible future four-laning of LA-64. The new bridge will be a four lane one that will replace a 70 year old 2 lane bridge currently in use. Original bids for the Magnolia Bridge project were supposed to be taken sometime in the 3rd or 4th quarter of this year. The push to make these funds available will move the project bid dates up by approximately 6 months.

The current Magnolia Bridge is quite a large headache for anyone traveling westbound in the morning and eastbound in the evening. It’s only one of 4 crossings for the Amite River from Port Vincent all the way to the northern portion of East Baton Rouge. Anyone wishing to get to Watson from the Baton Rouge area or back must utilize this bridge. With only 2 lanes it really puts a strain on the 23,000 or so vehicles that cross it daily. The new 4 lane bridge and the eventual upgrading of Hwy 64 to 4 lanes will definitely ease some traffic headaches in the rapidly growing areas of Central and Watson.