Moving forward

LA 1 project becomes more important than ever

By Angelle Bergeron

The replacement of the perpetually-flooded La. Hwy. 1 has been a nagging, lingering project for DOTD for some years. Traversed by a relatively small population of fishermen and vacationers destined for Grand Isle, the artery hasn't received the sort of high-profile attention bestowed upon some metropolitan-area projects.

But the road that connects Golden Meadow to Grand Isle and Fourchon is an integral artery that supports 70 percent of the offshore oil industry in the Gulf of Mexico and supplies 18 percent of the nation's hydrocarbons. Also nearby are two of the most productive estuaries and fishery ports in the country, said David Miller, DOTD project engineer.

If the need to evacuate residents of Louisiana's only inhabited barrier island wasn't sufficient rationale for the $300 million project, the squeeze placed on the nation's oil supply in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita was a reminder of the project's significance.

"The project is even more vital since Cameron and Venice are shut down," Miller said.

The 2- to 4-ft. elevation highway "literally floods all the time," he said.

advertisement

The project, which was designed to include 17 mi. of four elevated lanes, was let for bid in June. Only two joint-venture bids came in for the enormous project, both at close to $100 million over DOTD estimates.

"We went back and did some checking and talking about what happened," said Michael Bridges, undersecretary, Office of Management and Finance. First of all, the contractors didn't think there was enough time allotted for construction of the project, Bridges said. "They had to put multiple crews and overtime, and that put the price up."

Additionally, several components of the project could only be provided from one contractor, who was busy providing almost all of the components for the Escambia Bay Bridge project. "It was a simple supply and demand problem," Bridges said.

Furthermore, DOTD had advertised the project for only a month, which contractors said didn't allow enough time to explore issues like setting up a concrete plant and providing housing for crews. The size of the project also limited contractors' bonding ability, shrinking the field of bidders. "They basically built risk into their bids," Bridges said.

The DOTD took all of these considerations into account and divided the project into three phases, the first of which was let for bid in December. "We simplified it, split it up into three pieces because we feel like the smaller packages will encourage more competition," Bridges said.

Phase B (the first to be let) includes construction of approaches to Bayou Lafourche Bridge in Leeville and T-intersection connectors (originally envisioned as turning lanes with off ramps) north and south of Leeville. "We decided to remove all of that overbuilding, and we could always come back and add those turns if and when the final two lanes are complete," Bridges said.

Phase A, which will be let this month, includes the elevated bridge from Leeville to Fourchon. DOTD opted to go with a smaller piling, which will be more readily available from a variety of manufacturers. Phase C, which includes the Bayou Lafourche crossing will be let in February.

A major component of the project is the toll plaza area, part of Phase B, and the reason for that being the first portion constructed.

"The reason why tolling was considered for this was that the locals realized they would never get enough funding for this roadway without putting up some money," Bridges said. Businesses from Port Fourchon and Thibodaux formed a group called the LA1 Coalition, and they determined that we could raise some of the money for this project through tolling.

"DOTD was able to put together a plan that utilized tolls, state highway funds and federal funds," Bridges said. "The plan of finance included the sale of bonds based on revenue derived from those tolls, which raised $136 million."

DOTD has also extended the construction schedule substantially and added a $10,000 per day up to $5 million incentive for Phase B.

The whole project is scheduled for completion by late 2010.