DOTD delays NEPA start for Mississippi River bridge project; draft EA to precede public hearings

Members of the Capital Area Road and Bridge District heard on Thursday that the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development is delaying formal initiation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental assessment for the Mississippi River bridge project until conceptual design issues and mitigation for tie‑ins at LA 1 and LA 30 are better defined.

"We have not initiated NEPA just yet because we're working through those tasks," DOTD project manager Christina Brygnaik said, explaining that DOTD and its consultants want draft line‑and‑grade drawings and control‑of‑access mitigation settled before asking the Federal Highway Administration to accept an environmental assessment. She said DOTD faces a strict 12‑month window once NEPA is formally started and wants to avoid starting the clock before key design questions are resolved.

Why it matters: Initiating NEPA without settled tie‑ins or mitigation could force repeated iterations during the 12‑month EA process and risk missing that deadline, DOTD officials said. The schedule change also shifts when the public will see the draft environmental document: DOTD and consultants told the commission they now…