Gov. Jeff Landry said the Interstate 10-Calcasieu River Bridge will be replaced — and at a cheaper rate.

“We are getting the same bridge that was planned, five miles of new interstate and frontage roads, but it’s going to be 25 percent less,” Landry said during the 120th annual Chamber Southwest Louisiana banquet Thursday night at Golden Nugget Casino Resort.

“This is a further example of how we can take lemons and make some lemonade,” Landry said.

The governor said had the bridge been replaced as promised, Southwest Louisiana wouldn’t have experienced the hours-long traffic delays that occurred during Monday night’s freezing temperatures.

“This latest weather event caused a tremendous problem with traffic in this town,” Landry said. “There were some things that happened that were completely unavoidable; however, there may have been some things that were avoidable. We are going to correct that. They say the two best times to plant is either today or 30 years ago and if we would have planted that bridge at least seven years ago we wouldn’t have had that unfortunate event.”

Landry credited the courage of the Southwest Louisiana delegation with helping this new plan come to fruition.

“A few months ago while we were in the process of our campaign, the previous administration tried to rush a deal that cost too much and that brought no long-term benefit to Lake Charles, this region or this state,” Landry said. “Because your delegation said no, because they believed there was a better deal, today we are going to give you that better deal.”

Landry said tolls will still be necessary to fund the project, but they have been reduced by 26 percent for locals.

Landry said over the next seven years, Louisiana lawmakers — both in the state Legislature and in the U.S. Congress — will be fighting to find further ways to reduce the price of tolls needed to pay for the bridge.

“It’s important to recognize that the local tolls in the old deal, which we were told were 25 cents, was actually not true,” he said. “It was 25 cents if you had a real small car, but if you were a cowboy it would have cost you $3.52 to cross the bridge even if you were a local. Now you’re paying 25 cents, too.”

He said the commercial truck toll has also been reduced by 30 percent.

Also new to this deal is that now a 15 percent equity position has been negotiated for Lake Charles.

“Any time that project has a dollar of profit in it, you’re going to get 15 percent,” Landry said. “It’s in the contract. The great news is that equity position y’all have in that contract can now be used to further reduce tolls  or whatever you wish to do and that money is locked down for Imperial Calcasieu and it will not go anywhere else but Imperial Calcasieu.”