Louisiana Qualifies for $86.6 Million Transportation Infrastructure Loan for I-49 South Project

Baton Rouge, Louisiana – According to the Louisiana Office of the Governor, the United States Department of Transportation announced on August 4, 2022, that Louisiana qualifies for $86.6 million in Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) funding to go towards the U.S. 90 Ambassador Caffery Interchange, a future I-49 South corridor project, as part of its Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program.

The state may save roughly $135 million in inflation expenses by using TIFIA loan funding to accelerate ready Act 443 projects.

“With the assistance of TIFIA funding we are able to save on inflation by constructing tomorrow’s infrastructure needs today,” said Governor John Bel Edwards. “This segment of U.S. 90 is already a major industrial corridor in Louisiana that will expand significantly as we work to upgrade this corridor to interstate standards. The state extends its gratitude to Morteza Farajian and the entire team at USDOT for their efforts to develop programs that aid in expediting critical infrastructure projects across the United States.”

“Financing tools, such as TIFIA, are helping us move one step closer to improving infrastructure resiliency throughout Louisiana,” said DOTD Secretary Shawn D. Wilson. “As a state that has seen its fair share of 100-year storms more frequently in the last few years, TIFIA provides an opportunity to construct infrastructure projects that enhance safety and provide seamless links across corridors, congestion mitigation relief, and a sense of hope in Louisianans as we work to move our state forward.”

The Ambassador Caffery Junction is a $136 million project that entails building a grade-separated interchange approximately 4000 feet north of the Corne Road and US Highway 90 intersection. The project will also include the construction of frontage roads over the BNSF railroad. Construction is expected to start in the late summer/early fall of 2022.

The I-49 South program is a multibillion-dollar, multi-year construction project that will convert about 160 miles of the current US Highway 90 corridor to Interstate 49 South. I-49 will be constructed from its existing terminus at I-10 in Lafayette to the West Bank Expressway in New Orleans. The I-49 South corridor will promote economic growth by improving access, reducing traffic congestion, and increasing connections throughout the state’s transportation system.