Press Releases

U.S. Congressman Garret Graves (South Louisiana) released the following statement after the second phase of the LA 1 corridor project was let today.

Louisiana Highway 1 received a $135 million grant from U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to construct approximately 8.3 miles of elevated highway from Leeville Bridge to Golden Meadow – the largest transportation grant awarded in the nation. Graves' amendment to the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act requires that projects which support national energy security receive priority consideration for the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant program.

"We are about to see this historic investment pay off and build on hundreds of millions of dollars in investments from bipartisan infrastructure bills with real solutions. It will ensure LA 1 remains accessible during weather events and protect the critical energy hub in Port Fourchon. But under the infrastructure legislation currently falling apart before congress, this grant wouldn't come to Louisiana. This is why we will continue to sound the alarm that Louisiana won't get a fair shake the way things stand. US DOT criteria will be determined by a politicized process that would send most major infrastructure grants to places other than south Louisiana. We will keep working toward real transportation and infrastructure solutions and making the right investments to address Louisiana's priorities and advance our country," Graves said.

Read here about the Biden Administration's distribution of INFRA grants this year, where they moved forward in giving nearly $1 billion in grants to transportation and infrastructure projects with subjective criteria, objectives, and goals. Under the new criteria for INFRA grants set by the current DOT, there is apparent disregard for legal requirements in exchange for unquantifiable political objectives. The key program objectives established distort, undermine, and even contradict the objectives required by law.

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