Please support SB 277, which was set to be heard in the House Committee on Appropriations in the coming weeks. SB 277 would provide funding for many critical infrastructure projects around Louisiana, including the I-10 Calcasieu River Bridge Project in Lake Charles. SB 277 also provides this funding WITHOUT tolling, which the DOTD's current proposal implements.

Citizens and transportation industry members are against the tolling of the Calcasieu River Bridge. Interstate 10 runs through the country, starting in the east in Jacksonville, FL stretching westward all the way to Santa Monica, CA. In the 2,460 miles that I-10 runs, there are currently NO TOLLS throughout the seven states the interstate intersects. The DOTD's current plan of implementing tolling through a public-private partnership would provide the bridge and Louisiana with the ONLY TOLLED PORTION OF I-10 IN THE COUNTRY! We believe allowing tolling on I-10 would set a poor precedence for Louisiana nationally. 

For these reasons, we ask that you please support SB 277 along with the Calcasieu River Bridge project to help fund our infrastructure and keep tolls off of our interstate!