Citizen Portal
Sign In

DOTD seeks $823 million in FY27; flags corridor planning and roughly $18–19 billion project backlog

House Appropriations/Finance Committee (Legislature) · March 3, 2026

Loading...

AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

House Fiscal presented DOTD's FY27 request of $823 million; DOTD told the committee statutory dedications (Transportation Trust Fund) supply most revenue, discussed the Parish Transportation Fund and corridor planning for I‑12, and estimated a roughly $18–19 billion project backlog.

The Department of Transportation and Development presented its FY27 executive budget and priority programs to the House committee.

Claire Vermaelen of the House Fiscal Division told members that DOTD’s FY27 recommendation totals $823,000,000, with statutory dedications accounting for roughly $648,000,000 of that total. She said the Transportation Trust Fund (regular) is budgeted at about $456,100,000 and the federal TTF at about $185,700,000; Parish Transportation Fund programs were recommended at $46,400,000, including $38.4 million for parish road maintenance.

Secretary Ladde (Department of Transportation and Development) emphasized a push to deliver projects efficiently and described near‑term priorities: a first corridor plan for I‑12, buyback and replacement of vehicles and equipment, and increased operations funding for maintenance work crews. "We have a big mission this upcoming year, and we're excited about delivering that for you and the citizens of Louisiana," Ladde told the committee.

Committee members pressed on project delivery, winter‑weather equipment, and safety on specific corridors. Ladde said the department is rebuilding winter storm equipment capacity and has requested new plows and brining apparatus; he also described plans for corridor planning (I‑12) and several interchange improvements. He told the committee the agency’s project backlog is substantial—he estimated the long‑term backlog at roughly $18–19 billion—and said most of that total is for major capacity and safety projects on interstates and U.S. corridors.

Members discussed funding sources, including past investments from the state that boosted the Louisiana Transportation Infrastructure Fund (LTIF) and the role of the motor vehicle sales tax for certain dedicated projects. Ladde said LTIF capital injections and recent O&M increases have enabled visible progress on resurfacing, potholes and local maintenance, but he warned purchasing power for the traditional gas tax has eroded over decades.

The committee did not take a final vote on DOTD’s executive budget during the session; DOTD agreed to provide project‑level follow up and clarified that some dedicated revenue streams are intended to satisfy existing milestone payments for long‑term projects.