The Louisiana Department of Transportation is holding a public meeting at the Lake Charles Civic Center today from 4:00 to 7:00 PM to discuss the $2 billion dollar expansion of the Calcasieu River Interstate 10 bridge including its tolls and aesthetics. DOTD spokesperson Rodney Mallet says residents can view computer-generated visuals and multimedia presentations on the project.
“Nothing is final as far as the design. We do have some renderings on the website. And DOTD website and we will also have renderings.”
Toll rates range from 25 cents for local motorists with tags to $12.50 for a large truck with a tag. Mallet says toll charges were set at 2023 dollars and will be adjusted over time based on the consumer price index. He says preliminary rates were minimized because funding will be combined with a variety of funding sources.
“The state is putting up $800 million in an effort to try to minimize the cost of the tolls and this is what you see and why you see the rates as low as they are.”
Mallett says in September members of the House and Senate Transportation Committee will vote in favor or against the Calcasieu Bridge Partners proposal for a cost of $2 billion dollars and tolls…
“So the Joint Transportation Committee is going to be the ultimate decision maker when they vote to move forward with this project. One of the main reasons why we’re doing this is to gather these public comments so we can provide this information to the Joint Transportation Committee.”
A panel question and answer session will be held from 6:00 to 7:00 pm.
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