Are We a Step Closer to I-49 ‘Inner City Connector?’ [VIDEO]

State Senator Greg Tarver talks with 101.7 / 710 KEEL's Robert J Wright and Erin McCarty about a bill that would allocate $100 million of the state's Deepwater Horizon settlement for the building of Shreveport's Interstate 49 "Inner City Connector."

The bipartisan legislation includes a total of $690 million for ten infrastructure projects around the state.

Details from shreveporttimes.com:

"Shreveport's Interstate 49 inner city connector project is teed up for a $100 million cash infusion in a surprise bill that secured final passage here Tuesday.

House Bill 578 by Rep. Tanner Magee, R-Houma, had initially included $275 million for two road projects, but it expanded to $690 million for 10 key infrastructure projects throughout the state as it moved through the Legislature.

Lawmakers are financing the projects with $700 million the state secured in the settlement for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill.

Though the state receives the money in annual payments of $53 million, the projects could be bonded out to begin work almost immediately."

The bill is now expected to be signed by Governor John Bel Edwards.