BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) just announced its new Louisiana Rural Infrastructure Accelerator (LARIA) program today. The first round of funding is going toward a railroad project in the city of Broussard. Broussard mayor, Ray Bourque said the project will draw in new investments.
“It’s going to bring jobs,” Bourque said. “As we attract these new businesses to Broussard and as the current manufacturers expand, jobs come along with that and that’s been Broussard’s key to success for a long time.”
This new railroad track would allow companies to move their goods by train, rather than truck. The idea is that this new track, or rail spur, would decrease the burden of transportation costs on the manufacturing industry in Broussard.
”It will allow the companies there to use the rail system as transportation for their goods,” Bourque said. “So, it helps us attract new industrial customers and businesses to Broussard but it also helps support the current businesses that are there because they have new options in transportation.”
The price tag? $825,000 Out of the LARIA program’s current $2 million in federal grants. Governor Jeff Landry’s Deputy Chief of Staff Kyle Ardoin said he is looking to build off this first project with things like road, water, and sewage improvements, all around the state. It’s an effort to draw in new wealth.
“So we’ve got to upgrade that infrastructure if we’re going to bring in more manufacturing jobs or opportunities,” Ardoin said. “You’ve got to have a larger capacity for supplying water to those businesses.”
Click here to report a typo. Please include the headline.
Click here to subscribe to our WAFB 9 News daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.
Copyright 2024 WAFB. All rights reserved.