BATON ROUGE, La. - Lawmakers are closer to finalizing a plan for the new Mississippi River Bridge.
The senate committee on finance met Sunday, May 15 to settle on the budget. They landed on $300 million to spend this year on the proposed bridge.
Gov. John Bel Edwards had originally asked for $500 million, but without a definite plan and a final decision on a location, there needed to be room for compromise.
Democrats wanted $350 million, and Republicans wanted $200 million. They ended up agreeing to meet each other in the middle.
“Which is my understanding that will be enough to get the project moving and going, which is something we need to do. This is long overdue, and very much needed, not only for this region but for the entire country. The entire country will benefit from this bridge,” said Sen. Regina Barrow (D) of Baton Rouge.
Gov. Edwards still needs to sign off on the proposal.
Lawmakers plan to meet again next year to add dollars to keep the project moving forward.
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