Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development issued the following announcement on May 9.
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Shawn D. Wilson, Ph.D. announces the submission of three design-build proposals for the Loyola interchange improvements providing better access to the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (LANOIA) in Jefferson Parish. The companies that submitted proposals include James Construction Group, LLC, Gilchrist Construction Company, and Boh Bros. Construction Co., LLC.These proposals will be extensively reviewed for their ability to plan, design, construct, and control the project in order to produce a quality product on – or ahead of – schedule, with minimized impacts to the traveling public.
“Louisiana’s infrastructure has always been a priority for my administration, and we have utilized funding measures and never before used procurement tools available to address some of the state’s decades old needs,” said Governor John Bel Edwards. “This interchange is much needed and will assist the area around the Louis Armstrong airport as it continues to grow and attract more users. Other projects, such as the Barksdale I-220 interchange in Bossier, widening of I-10 in Baton Rouge and a new bridge replacement of the Belle Chasse Tunnel are all moving forward thanks to GARVEE bonds and other innovative funding mechanisms.”
GARVEE bonds are special bonds that are repaid using federal funds allocated to Louisiana. DOTD has received the three approvals required by the Legislature to begin accessing these bonds. Additional information on the design-build projects can be found at this link: http://wwwsp.dotd.la.gov/Inside_LaDOTD/Divisions/Engineering/Design-Build/Pages/default.aspx
Utilizing the design-build method will expedite the project delivery process by combining the design and construction phases. The recommendation to advertise and solicit for the Loyola interchange project was approved January 31, 2018 by the Louisiana Joint Transportation Committee with support from the Governor. At the time, this project and others in the GARVEE bond program did not have environmental clearance, permits, approvals, or funding plans finalized. DOTD has made compelling progress advancing this project since the Notice of Intent (NOI) letter was issued in March 2018.
The Department continues to seek innovative funding and project delivery measures in spite of the limited resources available from the decades old gas tax. Since the NOI, DOTD has entered and completed the Request for Proposals (RFP) phase, identified the top three design-builders, received three proposals and remains ahead of schedule. A design-build contract execution is scheduled for late August 2019.
“DOTD continues to put the infrastructure needs of Louisiana that advance economic prosperity first by pursuing alternative funding measures to advance forward while delivering them efficiently. This design-build project is the third significant project funded through the GARVEE bonds to enter the proposal phases, and we are thrilled to move forward in working toward our goal to begin construction on this crucial interchange in the coming months,” said Secretary Wilson.
Funding commitments for this project have been aided by Jefferson Parish, the City of New Orleans, LANOIA, the City of Kenner and the New Orleans Regional Planning Commission.
The Department will meet its commitment to have in place the interim traffic configuration by May 15, 2019. Meeting this critical deadline is essential to familiarizing local users of the flow of traffic that will be in place while the final project is designed and built. The buildout provides two additional lanes northbound and one additional lane southbound on Loyola Drive in the median that once housed the volunteer fire station.
In order to alleviate the traffic demands from the airport expansion, a four lane divided highway was built to connect motorists from Loyola Drive to the new terminal. Additional turn lanes were added at the following locations:
• A eastbound left turn lane from Loyola Drive to Veterans Blvd.
• A southbound left turn lane from Veterans Blvd. to Loyola Drive
• A northbound left turn lane from Veterans Blvd. to Loyola Drive
• A westbound right turn lane on Loyola Drive to Veterans Blvd.
• A turn lane from Loyola Drive to I-10 West
This project and two other significant infrastructure projects are being funded through the state’s first issuance of GARVEE bonds, which are special bonds that are repaid using federal funds allocated to Louisiana. DOTD has received the three approvals required by the Legislature to begin to access these bonds.??
Original source can be found here.
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