With over $160 million in financing available and construction on phase one of the LA 1 Improvement Project set to start in the fall, state Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) and LA 1 Coalition officials were disheartened to open construction bids on June 29 only to learn that the lowest bid was nearly $100 million over estimated project costs.

Within hours, however, their disappointment turned to determination as the LA 1 Project Team began its work to refine project specifications in order to keep the construction schedule moving.

According to LA 1 Coalition Executive Director Roy Francis, the Coalition is working closely with DOTD staff to modify requirements such as pile size and construction completion dates in order to rein in the project cost. Completion of the new Leeville Bridge and elevated highway to Port Fourchon was originally anticipated for the summer of 2008. Extending that rigorous schedule should reduce overtime costs and allow more construction firms to bid on the project, Francis says.

DOTD hopes to advertise for new bids on the revised project specifications by the end of the year.

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Press contact:
Henri Boulet, LA 1 Coalition
985.448.4485