BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Governor John Bel Edwards and Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Shawn D. Wilson, Ph.D. commended the Biden Administration and U.S. Senate after passing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Acts (IIJA).
“Today’s bipartisan vote on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will have an everlasting impact on Louisiana and is a huge step in the right direction toward helping the state clear a backlog of road and bridge repairs that our state has long needed to address,” said Gov. Edwards.
“We are that much closer to receiving nearly $6 billion from the nationwide allocation of $550 billion. This will mean jobs and a much-improved transportation system that our citizens deserve. Of special interest is the investment in ports, which will be of great benefit to our urban and rural ports across the state. In addition, this bill will greatly help to eliminate the digital divide in our state by 2029. It will provide $100 million that will help solve a portion of our broadband access challenges across the state. This has been a long time in coming and took a lot of hard work to pass. I am grateful to Sen. Bill Cassidy for his leadership on the IIJA which will bring benefits to our state for generations to come. I urge members of the U.S. House of Representatives to quickly approve this bill and make the benefits it promises our state and nation a reality.”
“I commend the U.S. Senate for passing the IIJA today and demonstrating the bipartisanship that’s so important for this legislation to pass into law,” said Sec. Wilson.
“Infrastructure knows no politics and the IIJA will benefit everybody and all modes of transportation in our state. Our investment of the nearly $6 billion over the next five years will make a sizable impact on the roads and bridges that have been in need of upgrades for years. I join Gov. Edwards in thanking Sen. Cassidy and all those who worked tirelessly to ensure this act passed the senate.”
