Capital Area Road and Bridge District gets project update; residents urge rejection of E-11-4 alternative

The Capital Area Road and Bridge District on its first-quarter 2025 meeting received an update from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and consultant Atlas Technical on the proposed Mississippi River bridge project, including a timeline for Environmental Assessment (NEPA) work and remaining deliverables, and then heard multiple public comments opposing bridge alternative E‑11‑4.

DOTD project manager Christina Bridal told the district the project has “all of the pre NEPA field work complete and all of the NEPA field work complete,” and that available funding for the project is “just under $400,000,000 for available funding for the project.” Bridal said the final geotechnical report would be submitted in about two weeks, with bridge conceptual design, cost estimates and hydraulic analysis to follow. She said traffic studies are under DOTD review and the tolling analysis is being finalized.

The update laid out a schedule that places public meetings in the third quarter of 2025 (July–Sept.), public hearings in the third or fourth quarter of 2025, and anticipated completion of NEPA in spring 2026. Bridal said the wetlands and cultural‑resource field work are complete and that the Phase I environmental site assessment is under DOTD review. Kara, an Atlas Technical consultant, said the NEPA field work was allowed to start early by Federal Highway Administration staff so the team could meet federal timing expectations for an EA.

Why it matters: the bridge project requires federal…