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DOTD unveils $1.2 billion FY26–27 Highway Priority Program and credits LTIF for faster delivery
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Summary
At a Shreveport roadshow, DOTD leaders described a $1.2 billion Highway Priority Program for FY26–27, with about $913 million slated for construction and 302 projects expected to be let. Department officials credited recent LTIF funds with dramatically improving project delivery and promised follow‑up on local schedules.
Secretary Dauphine, presenting at a Joint Transportation Committee roadshow in Shreveport, outlined the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development’s Highway Priority Program for fiscal year 2026–27 and described a suite of reforms designed to speed project delivery.
"This plan represents a $1,200,000,000 investment," Secretary Dauphine said during the presentation, and DOTD staff explained that roughly $913,000,000 of that allocation is intended for construction letting in FY26–27, with the balance funding preconstruction, engineering, inspection and contingency work. DOTD said the construction allotment will support about 302 projects that the department anticipates will be let this fiscal year.
The secretary framed the HPP around five goals: preservation of the system, efficient operation, safety improvements, capacity and expansion, and improving quality of life. DOTD described five project types (preservation, capacity, operations, safety and miscellaneous) and three implementation phases (let for construction, project development, and awaiting funding).
District 04 administrator David North described work already completed with recent funding for the region. "We in‑house laid 23.86 miles of roadway in small segments in all 7 parishes," North said, and he credited a $7.5 million local package for targeted pavement and safety improvements. North also said a treatment to reduce icing on bridges was deployed locally and that safety interventions cut recurring rain‑related crashes near one interchange to nearly zero.
DOTD emphasized that the department has reorganized project delivery, creating an office of transformation to standardize prioritization, contract administration and communications. Officials repeatedly cited the Louisiana Transportation Infrastructure Fund (LTIF) as a recent inflection point: DOTD said LTIF helped advance roughly 100 projects totaling about $500,000,000 in recent cycles and that delivery rates have improved markedly since the transformation began.
Committee members and legislators pressed DOTD staff for specific start dates and contractor mobilization details for local projects. DOTD responded that several projects have been awarded and are in contractor mobilization or paperwork stages, and officials pledged to provide specific letting and preconstruction dates to local legislators after the meeting.
The presentation concluded with DOTD promising enhanced public communication about scheduled construction activities (including social media notice of maintenance sweeps and mowing) and an offer to provide legislators with a post‑meeting schedule of start dates and project phases for their districts. The department also said it expects coordination with federal partners for megaprojects that require FHWA review.
