PORT ALLEN — Work on the long-awaited LA 415 Connector is scheduled to begin in December, according to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. But what the project will cost is less clear.

At a Sept. 8 public drop-in on the project, Nicholas Olivier, a Critical Projects assistant administrator with DOTD, told WBR Independent it is "approximately a five hundred fifty million dollar project for construction," built in two phases.

The project's website, which DOTD's press office pointed to when asked where the project stands, lists an anticipated total cost of $268 million, calculated in 2023.

What's planned

The connector would run 2.7 miles from I-10 at LA 415 south across the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway to LA 1, giving drivers a second route between the south end of the parish and the interstate.

It would include a new interchange at LA 415 and I-10 and another on LA 1 near LA 988, also known as Beaulieu Lane.

The first phase would build a two-lane road. The state would hold enough right-of-way to widen it to four lanes in a second phase.

DOTD selected James Construction Group, now Primoris Heavy Civil, and TRC Engineers Inc. to design and build the project under a construction manager at risk contract. That arrangement lets work start in pieces before the full design is finished.

When work starts

DOTD's first contract for the project is scheduled to be let in December, according to Brooke Goodrich, a DOTD public information officer for the Baton Rouge area. That work will be clearing and grubbing, the removal of trees and brush from the right-of-way. Phase 1 construction is expected to begin next year, she said in an email.

Olivier said testing would come first. In 2027, he said, drivers "may see some turn lanes," earthwork, early ramp construction and test piles.

"December is a hard date for us to start," he said.

Right-of-way purchases have not started. Olivier said they will begin in early 2027, after the project receives federal environmental approval, but the state already owns enough land to begin work without waiting on them.

"Right-of-way is not gonna hold us up on getting started," he said.

What changed

The Sept. 8 meeting was required by the Federal Highway Administration because the design changed after it was approved, Olivier said. The route itself is generally where it was in 2023, he said. The changes are to intersections and connecting roads.

On LA 1, those changes include:

• Antonio Road: The median opening would be replaced with access management features. Left turns stay, a U-turn with a bump-out is added for southbound drivers turning back north, and one right-turn movement would be restricted.

• Walmart area and Phillips Lane: The traffic signal would move to a new main entrance, and a median restriction would run along the frontage road. A roundabout would be built on Phillips Lane, with a new road connection behind RaceTrac and a hotel giving drivers full access back to the frontage road, according to Olivier and the project's plan drawings. The plans also show an extension of Richardsons Drive behind the Walmart.

Olivier said the design is "maybe even ninety-nine percent" final and that DOTD does not expect any more studies.

A private road the parish may take over

That roundabout would sit on a private road. At the Sept. 24 parish council meeting, Parish President Jason Manola said DOTD has asked the parish to consider taking over Phillips Lane as part of the project. The road runs east from LA 1 between the Waffle House and RaceTrac, just north of the Walmart.

"It was actually built based on parish standards," Manola said. He said the proposal would come back to the council before any action.

Council Clerk Michelle Tullier said her research showed the council had agreed to take the road into the parish system when it was built but never formally did.

Manola also told the council that a meeting Parish Public Works Director Brandon Bourgoyne had with the project team that week had already turned to talk of a ribbon cutting, a sign, he said, that the project could eventually reach the goal line. He did not give a date.

Is it still needed?

Some residents have questioned whether the connector is still necessary now that a new Intracoastal Waterway bridge is being built on LA 1.

Olivier said it is. The Intracoastal bridge still sends drivers to I-10 or into Port Allen, he said, while the connector gives them a route "outside of town" if an accident, hurricane or other event blocks LA 1.

The cost question

The website lists $88.3 million in federal TIFIA loan assistance and $125 million from Act 443, a 2019 law that dedicated money from the BP oil spill settlement to state transportation projects. Together they cover $213.3 million. The rest is to come from other state or local money, according to the site.

If construction costs about $550 million, as Olivier said, how the rest will be paid is an open question. He did not say whether his figure covers one phase or both.

WBR Independent asked the project's public inquiry office Sept. 22 for the current total estimate, whether it covers one or both phases and how the gap would be funded. No one responded. Asked separately Sept. 25 where the project stands, including its funding, Goodrich referred WBR Independent to the project website.

Bourgoyne, who also attended the drop-in, said the total cost is neither of the figures previously reported, $126 million or $268 million, but added, "I'm not sure, to be honest."

Follow the project

Project maps and display boards from the Sept. 8 meeting are posted at la415connector.com. Questions and comments can be sent to info@la415connector.com.