(Port Fourchon, La.) Louisiana Department of Transportation Secretary Kam Movassaghi and Federal Highway Administration Division Administrator William Sussmann today signed the Record of Decision for the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on a proposed new highway in south Lafourche Parish.

The Record of Decision marks the formal approval and acceptance of the EIS for a nationally significant highway improvement proposal that includes a new four-lane La. Highway 1 between Golden Meadow, La. and Port Fourchon, La., and a new fixed bridge over Bayou Lafourche at Leeville to replace the existing lift bridge. The EIS was performed by Mike Baker Engineers. Completion of this step now allows state and federal authorities to move forward with engineering, design, surveying and right-of-way acquisition for the total project.

"To have a study of this magnitude completed in such a relatively short period of time is a credit to our local, state and federal leaders, as well as our members who provided the private financial support to get this project going. We are now very excited to move into the preliminary construction phase of a highway that has and will continue to play such an important role in America's energy supply," said LA 1 Coalition Executive Director Roy Francis.

Port Fourchon is the port of choice for 75 percent of deepwater oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, and its facilities service approximately 16 percent of this nation's supply of crude oil and natural gas. La. Highway 1, a two-lane sub-standard highway that has experienced a double-digit increase in truck traffic each of the past three years, is the only road connecting the port to the rest of the country. The U.S. Congress named La. Highway 1 to the federal list of High Priority Corridors in 2001 because of its importance to the national energy supply.

"Port Fourchon has grown from 25 acres in 1980 to more than 600 acres today to keep up with the phenomenal growth in Gulf of Mexico deepwater activity," explains Ted Falgout, Executive Director of the Greater Lafourche Port Commission and Chairman of the LA 1 Coalition. "Unfortunately for everyone, our only highway has not improved to meet the increased demand. This EIS is a very important milestone in the construction of a dependable highway system, beginning with a new bridge at Leeville. The existing lift bridge has long been our weakest link."

The proposed LA Highway 1 project calls for the construction of approximately 16 miles of paralleling four-lane elevated highway from Port Fourchon to the Golden Meadow flood gates, including a fixed overpass at Bayou Lafourche in Leeville, and one mile of four-lane highway north of the flood gates.

"For years, local residents and the thousands of energy workers who travel through Port Fourchon have recognized the immense importance of LA 1. Today, our message is being heard in Baton Rouge and in Washington, DC," says Rep. Loulan Pitre of Cut Off, La. "Now more than ever, improvements to this significant highway system are not only a local need but a national necessity."

The LA 1 Coalition is a non-profit corporation working for highway improvements from Grand Isle, Louisiana, to U.S. Highway 90. The coalition is comprised of stakeholders who realize the critical need for improvements to this important intermodal link.

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Press contact:
Roy Francis, LA 1 Coalition
985.448.4485