<p class="indent">The aging Interstate 10 bridge over the Calcasieu River gained national attention recently with the release of a U.S. Chamber of Commerce article calling it an “ideal example” of the need for government and private investors “to work together to modernize America’s infrastructure.”</p><p class="indent">The article said the bridge illustrates the “resounding real-life significance” of neglected infrastructure as a source of frequent issues like idled vehicles, accidents, unsafe conditions and lost productivity in the Lake Area.</p><p class="indent">It said the bridge should be a “clarion call to Louisiana’s legislators to finally pass a gas-tax increase.”</p><p class="indent">Replacing the bridge, built in 1952, has long been a priority of local advocates. But environmental concerns about building in the area after an ethylene dichloride spill in the 1990s, along with ongoing litigation from the spill, have hindered progress.</p><p class="indent">More recently, the congested flow of money from federal and state bodies toward infrastructure projects has pushed off bridge construction indefinitely.</p><p class="indent">The article cited George Swift, head of the Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance, as calling the bridge “unusually steep” and inadequate for its traffic flow — as much as 90,000 cars daily — having only two lanes and no turn-off lanes.</p><p class="indent">“All across the nation there are infrastructure projects that have been neglected, and we think the I-10 bridge is one of the most important,” Swift said in a interview with the <span>American Press</span> on Thursday.</p><p class="indent">The National Bridge Inventory Database lists the bridge as “structurally deficient” and “basically intolerable requiring high priority of corrective action.” It lists its deck, superstructure and substructure as in “serious condition” and says its railings, guard rail and transitions “don’t meet acceptable standards.”</p><p class="indent">The state of the bridge, part of the I-10 corridor linking California with Florida, is more than just a local issue, Swift said. He said the alliance aims to draw attention to this fact with trips to Washington, D.C., and a newly formed task force to review financing options.</p><p class="indent">“I think it’s very significant for our region to get this national publicity,” Swift said of the article. “That’s what we’ve been trying to do is get the need for the new I-10 bridge on the national radar, and our efforts working with the U.S. chamber have resulted in this exposure.”</p><p class="indent">Advocates have taken some comfort in President Donald Trump’s pledge to increase infrastructure funding. Swift said Trump’s proposed plan could result in funding for the bridge project but that any federal funds would have to be paired with a local match of up to 80 percent of total costs.</p><p class="indent">Identifying ways to generate those funds will be a primary goal of the alliance in the coming months, he said. Meanwhile, the state transportation department is reviewing several plans for the bridge’s design to avoid toxins left over from the 1994 chemical spill.</p><p class="indent">“We think the environmental issues can be overcome by the way you build the bridge, but the financial aspect is the real holdup right now,” Swift said.</p><p class="indent">While talks continue on the national level, traffic is taking a toll on commuters as work continues on a 5.6-mile stretch of I-10. Crews are replacing expansion joints on multiple I-10 overpasses to prepare for upcoming work to Interstate 210, expected to last three years.</p>