State capital outlay figures: Livingston Parish staff tallies $23.2M in priority funding; Hooper Road extension and roundabouts highlighted
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Summary
Committee reviewed the state capital outlay (House Bill 2) items relevant to Livingston Parish. Staff reported roughly $23.2 million in priority 1/2 guaranteed funding and about $157 million listed as priority 5 (wish list). Major items discussed included the Hooper Road extension, several roundabouts, and airport and sheriff training center funding.
The Livingston Parish committee spent a substantial portion of its Dec. 1 meeting reviewing state capital outlay items and what they mean locally. A committee member who reviewed the 162-page bill said he isolated items that apply to Livingston Parish and calculated roughly $23.2 million in priority 1 and 2 guaranteed funding and about $157 million in priority 5 wish-list funding for parish projects.
The capital outlay bill (referred to in the meeting as House Bill 2) covers a broad set of programs statewide; committee members emphasized the difference between priority 1 and 2 dollars, which are typically guaranteed or near-term allocations, and priority 5 items, which represent what projects would need to be completed but are not guaranteed. "Priority 5 is a wish list… it's what it takes to finish the project, which might or might not ever be, but it's not funding," a commissioner said.
Key local projects discussed: - Hooper Road extension: committee members discussed the route that would extend Hooper Road across the Emmett River to tie into LA 1019 north of Watson. One speaker asked whether the proposed route and related bridge crossing would primarily serve commuters and noted developer interest in adjacent parcels. At least one speaker questioned the $26 million figure cited for a related project and asked what traffic the extension would actually divert. - Roundabouts and Highway work: the list includes a roundabout at LA 447/Walker North/LA 1025 (priority 1 cited at roughly $2.1 million) and widening of Highway 447 with additional priority 5 allocations. Speakers stressed the safety need at these high-accident locations. - Comite River Diversion planning: listed as planning-only funding ($210,000) in the bill text summarized to the committee. - Civic and community facilities: the Sheriff's Office training/civic center design appeared with roughly $889,000 guaranteed and an additional $43 million listed for later phases; the Livingston Parish Airport District also appeared with roughly $3.4 million in near-term funding on staff’s list.
Commissioners expressed concern about how some state routes and proposed connectors might intersect planned local development, specifically a parcel referred to in the meeting as "Patriot's Point." One commissioner urged the planning commission to watch future development proposals that align with the state’s proposed connector and, if necessary, to push for different site plans or to preserve land. "Do we really wanna have that bridge going there from Hooper Road? If that's true, then we need to hold that land and say, no, we don't want you developed that way," a commissioner said.
The staff member who reviewed the bill said he would email the full House Bill 2 text to committee members and planned to return next month with a more detailed funding figure that includes allocations Ascension Parish received for comparison.
Next steps: staff will circulate the specific pages of House Bill 2 relevant to Livingston Parish, and the committee asked staff to monitor projects that could intersect parish land-use planning and to bring a funding breakdown to the next meeting.
